The Netherfield Effect
by Renegade Ace
Summary: LBD Universe: If the flap of a butterfly's wing can affect the weather half a world away, how can one little change influence the outcome of a story? How does Lizzie's stay at Netherfield change if Caroline wasn't there? How does her relationship with Darcy progress without Caroline trying to get between them? Canon until episode 26.
1. Arriving at Netherfield

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's Note: The other night I was introducing a friend of mine to LBD. What had started as an hour to show her the first few episodes turned into four hours of watching videos until we couldn't see straight. During this marathon I noticed that while Lizzie doesn't like Darcy, she doesn't truly seem to give into hating him and REALLY misunderstanding him until she's at Netherfield and has Caroline there egging her on. And while Wickham pushed it further, I think that it was Caroline that really laid the foundation for her continued misunderstanding him.

And so I couldn't help but wonder, what if she didn't know about Lizzie's videos? What if, when Lizzie and Jane came to stay with the Lee's, Caroline had to be elsewhere? Would Darcy have been constantly avoiding them? And without Caroline there to divert her, wouldn't Lizzie kind of have to interact with him more?

I kind of wanted to find out. So... here it is. The Butterfy Effect... Lizzie Bennet style.

The Netherfield Effect

1. Arriving at Netherfield.

"Now remember: you said that you'd be nice," Jane reminded her sister as Netherfield came into sight. They were to stay there for two weeks while their house was being renovated. Two weeks in the company of Caroline Lee and William Darcy - two of her least favourite people, all the while having to watch as her sister made bedroom eyes at Bing. What had she been thinking to agree to this?

Oh yeah, she was thinking the other option was to spend two weeks locking in a small space with her mother and Lydia. At the time it had seemed like an easy choice. The lesser of the two causes for insanity. Now, faced with the oversized house and the Darth Vader theme song playing in her head as they turned up the drive, she had wondered how bad it really would have been sharing a room with her youngest sister while listening to her mother rattle on and on about Jane's progress.

She shivered at the thought.

No, she figured as she acknowledged Jane's warning, the added benefit of being in one place that her mother didn't want her to be would have to be the proverbial icing on the sour cake that would be two weeks at Netherfield.

She rolled her eyes, "I said I would. I'm not mom or Lydia, I am house broken."

"I know," Jane apologized, her nerves showing as she put the car into park. "It's just that I want you to give Bing a chance. Please, Lizzie? I want you to like him."

She forced her smile wider. Sometimes it was all too easy to remember that Jane was her older sister. "I'm sure I shall."

"And Darcy..."

She wanted to scream. Why did everyone bring him up? "You want me to like Darcy?"

"He'a a guest here too," Jane reminded her, "And he's Bing's best friend."

"So, maybe he should look into his taste of friends?" She said, still forcing her smile.

"Or maybe you could." Jane teased, "You are Lizzie the Spy after all."

Rolling her eyes again, Lizzie opened her door. She knew what Jane had been hinting at. In middle school Lizzie was convinced that she had to know everything about every mystery. This came after finding out that the Jesse and the Rippers weren't a real band. Wondering what other lies she had been told... well, she sought the truth. Here, Jane wanted her to use that thirst for knowledge again. She wanted her to look deep and gather all the information before she made a decision on the information that she had already gathered.

Charlotte had said the same thing to her time and time again. If there had been a dead horse, Lizzie was sure Charlotte would try to beat it.

Looking up at the large house, knowing that somewhere inside Darcy was hating and judging her, she wondered how her two best friends couldn't see what was right in front of them. Darcy was a jerk. She didn't need to waste her time on research to know the sheer depths that his assholeishness went into his very dark and empty soul.

"Hey," Bing greeted, jogging out to meet them by the trunk of their car, smiling at them both however little his attention strayed from Jane, "Sorry I wasn't out here sooner, but I just got back myself."

"Sooner?" Lizzie asked, confusion clear on her face, "Are you auditioning to be the Flash?"

"Back?" Jane put in, ignoring Lizzie's quip, smiling her thanks when Bing took her suitcase in hand, "Were you out?"

"I had to take Caroline to the airport. She got called back to work. I wasn't sure if I would get back in time to meet you. Luckily Darcy was here, if I didn't make it in time."

"That's a comfort,"Lizzie mumbled under her breath, noting with a frown that he still hadn't revealed himself. Just how rude could he be? After all, as a friend of Bing's shouldn't he be helping in greeting his guests. Course, it would have probably been too much to ask to see him help with the bags.

"I'm sorry that Caroline won't be here,"Jane said and meant it, "I was looking forward to getting to know her better."

"She regrets that too. But hopefully she'll be back before you leave. Come on, I'll show you your rooms and then give you a tour."

~*~LBD~*~

"I swear, Charlotte," Lizzie said into her phone later that night as she went into the kitchen, seeking out a moment's peace disguised as snacks, "This place is like the Twilight zone. I will never understand rich people."

"That many rooms?"

"That many bathrooms. Who needs that many toilets?" She opened the fridge, "And the staff. They have a cook. A cook!"

"Maybe they're as bad in the kitchen as you are?"

"Oh ha ha. You burn one too many meals and suddenly you're labelled a bad cook for the rest of your life."

"Come on now, be honest. Is it really that bad there?"

Lizzie straightened from her search through the well stocked fridge and surveyed the darkened room, frowning as she really couldn't find anything to fault. "No. Architecturally speaking this house is amazing, a little gaudy in places, but I figure that's Caroline's influence. Otherwise, it's a really nice house. Hell, I'd be tempted to marry Bing if I could get a house like this."

"You would not."

Lizzie shared Charlotte's laugh, "No, I wouldn't. Nor would Jane. You should see her, Char, she's fitting in here. Course, with Bing as your host, I'm sure it's not hard to fit in when he looks at you the way that he looks at her."

"You sound jealous," Charlotte put in with a knowing smile that she knew would earn her an eye roll.

"Please! Who wants a nice, good-looking guy to dote on you? Not me. Not me at all. I'm satisfied with ice cream and Colin Firth..."

"There you are..." a new voice interrupted. An impatient voice. Darcy's voice.

She frowned, lowering her phone to her chest, uncomfortable at being caught. "_You_ were looking for me?"

"No. Your sister has been. I believe they thought you had become lost." His expression, to her, was severe. Even vulcans were more personable than he appeared to be.

"No worries there, Darcy, I have my string and breadcrumbs. You didn't need to come find me, I can find my way."

He shifted, "I believe they are watching a movie in the home theatre. Your presence has been requested."

"And you..."

He arched his eyebrow, growing more agitated with every question she asked, "I'm going to do work in my room. Goodnight." With a slight bow of his head he turned on his heel and left.

"Good talk," she mumbled, holding up her hand in the vulcan symbol, "Live long and prosper."

"What was that?" Charlotte asked when she could hear Lizzie's breathing back on the other end of the line.

"That was Darcy being... Darcy. You know how I said I was happy that Caroline wasn't here? I think I'm changing my mind on that."

"But you dislike her."

"Yeah, but at least with her here, I would have someone else to focus on other than Darcy or my sister's happy couple-dom. Through dinner he stared at me. Constantly. It was like he didn't believe I knew how to use a fork without trying to comb my hair with it."

"Be nice."

She groaned, "I AM being nice. It's just with that guy, it's so hard. He sucks all the nice out of me."

"I know. Just, for Jane's sake, please try."

"I will. And I'll prove it to you tomorrow, with my new video."

"Am I going to have to sit through half an hour of you calling him names?"

"I'll try to cap it at fifteen minutes. I'll call you after I shoot it. And Charlotte, if I don't come out of this alive, I'll miss you."

~*~LBD~*~

For a house with so many rooms, there seemed to be very little actual living space. By the third day she couldn't go anywhere in Netherfield without running into either Bing or Darcy or Jane or Bing and Jane. And after watching them during yet another awkward supper, Lizzie escaped to the library for what she had hoped to be a little time to recoup.

Pulling out her phone she tried Charlotte's number. No answer.

She checked her texts. Nothing new.

Twitter? Notta.

There was nothing from the outside world. Nothing but books.

She let out a frustrated sigh, before looking around the small room, wondering in the taste of books that Bing Lee had. There could be nothing worse on the shelves than what she could expect to find that evening in the company of the Three Stooges she was currently sharing a home with: Cheerful, Obliging and Dick-head.

She paused when she came upon the Twilight Saga. Of all the books she was expecting to find in this library, these were no where on the list.

"Seriously?"

"That was an addition by Caroline," Darcy said from the doorway, causing her to jump. "Not quite what I consider classic reading."

She quirked a smile, "_You_ know Twilight?"

"I do have a younger sister," he allowed with a frown.

She had to give him that one. She had been forced through more than one of those movies because of her younger sister's influence. And yet she couldn't see Darcy sitting through five minutes let alone four books worth.

"To his credit, Bing does have the complete works of Doyle, Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, among others." He pointed towards the back of the room, again shifting uncomfortably.

"Your favourites?" She asked almost as an accusation, sensing that he would like nothing more than to be out of her presence.

"I have many."

Of course he would, she reasoned. Instead of following his directions to where the classics were housed, she continued looking at various other shelves, noticing for the first time that he had a book in his hands. "May I ask what you're reading?"

"Read," he said, correcting her tense, "I have just finished Anthony Trollope's _He Knew He Was Right._ I had long been meaning to read it."

"Good book," she allowed, "Although sad."

He quirked an eyebrow, taking a step further into the room. "Sad?"

She nodded, "He was driven mad by his lack of faith and she had to suffer even though she had done nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong?" His tone was flat. He took a further step. "Had she of just listened to her husband and ceased seeing Colonel Osborne, nothing would have happened and the insanity that had gripped him would have been for naught."

Her jaw slackened. "Listened to him? Because as his wife she's not allowed to see her friends? Her own Godfather? Or to have an opinion? How about to be trusted by her husband?"

He looked down when she stepped forward, her voice raised, meeting her argument with one of his own. "That is not what I meant. And I do not believe it was initially not trusting in her that had led to his feelings of doubt in the relationship."

She nodded, eyes rolling, leave it a man to disguise mistrust in his wife for mistrust in someone else. "You really think it was because he didn't trust Osborne?"

"No," Darcy interrupted, "While yes, he obviously didn't trust the Colonel, and for that I would not blame him considering the man's position within Emily's family and also Osborne's reputation. But rather, it was trust in himself that was lacking and therefore led to the ultimate downfall of their relationship."

"Himself?" She was taken aback, not really having expected that from him.

"Yes. He knew that he didn't deserve her. And instead of trusting that he someday might and continue to endeavour in earning her continued affections, he drove her away. I believe it is called a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy."

He stepped closer once more. They were within five feet of one another, closer than they had ever been when not forced to dance together. He was staring down at her with an intensity that always made her uncomfortable. And it took everything she had not to back down from it, or from him.

Finally, she looked away with a laugh, her throat growing dry. "I'll agree with you on one point, Darcy."

The corner of his lip turned up briefly as he looked down, book between his hands and feet wide, ready to hear whatever she had to say next, "And what is that, Lizzie?"

She blinked when he said her name, stopping her short. She didn't like to hear it on his lips. It seemed wrong for him to use the informality. It seemed way too intimate for him to call her anything but Elizabeth, or the very least, Miss Bennet.

Swallowing back the unease found when she met his eye, she forged on. "He really didn't deserve her."

He gave her a half-shrug, looking over her head, forehead crinkling as he thought of his response. "Few men truly do deserve the women they find themselves in love with. That, I believe is what courting is for, to persuade her that he someday might."

He moved past her, his eyes fixed on the empty space on the far shelf that housed the book they had been discussing, and suddenly it felt like she could breath easier. She cast a look over her shoulder, "And here I thought that's what the diamond was all about."

He paused, and smirked, glancing at her, almost sizing her up, as he did so. "No. Diamonds are meant to merely seal the deal."

She heard it in his voice. For the first time she caught that something he had said could be meant as a joke. Darcy could joke? Would wonders never cease to exist? No longer interested in reading, she quickly left, feeling more uneasy with the exchange that she would ever admit to anyone.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: My apologies to Twilight fans... it just kind of happened. But really, I can see Lizzie not liking that book. Also apologies to He Knew He Was Right, it's been years since I've read it/watched the mini series and so probably got it not quite right.


	2. Finding Out

Disclaimer: Not mine, please don't sue. You won't get anything, not even an original idea.

Author's Note: To celebrate Darcy-the-Hero and the site coming down, here is part 2!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed already. More is always appreciated, so keep them coming!

The Netherfield Effect

2. Finding out.

It was a week into their visit and Jane had gotten sick. And while Lizzie worried over her and wished her well soon, she knew that she would never be able to forgive her for leaving her alone so much with Bing and Darcy. Especially when Bing had insisted on Jane having her meals in bed to keep up her energy. Before, Jane had been a sort of buffer between her sister and Bing's friend. Together, she and Bing kept the conversation both flowing and civil. Without her at the table, Lizzie found more awkward silences than anything else and despite the quality of the food that the Lee cook produced, she was amazed at how little she had come to look forward to meals anymore.

Frowning at the thought of yet another such meal, Lizzie was surprised when she came down to supper to find her host alone at the table. She froze in the doorway, wondering if there was a trap laying in wait just out of sight. Catching her eye, Bing smiled, reassuring her that all was well and coaxing her into a seat beside him all at the same time.

"Darcy," he explained, noting her confusion, "Might not make it down. He's doing a video conference with his offices in New York, and things seem to be running later than he had intended."

"I thought that he had that this morning," she said, remembering how he hadn't made it to breakfast, nor did she see him around for most of the day. Not that she was likely to be someone who would lament over Darcy's absence from her life.

"I did," Darcy said coming into the room. He looked tired. His neck was bare of the usual scarf or tie that he always seemed to wear, even on the weekends; and the collar of his shirt was unbuttoned. Lizzie didn't know that he could look so disheveled before. Even his hair was unkempt. She had noticed his tendency to fiddle with it while deep in concentration and she couldn't help wondering if things weren't going well for him to cause the dark locks to be so out of their usual place.

His hair had a slight curl in it.

"Start at 6am again?" Bing asked, pulling Lizzie from her study of the tall man, as Darcy went to the side bar where coffee had already been set out.

"Yes. And if we don't finish in the next two hours we will be back at it again tomorrow. Which I do not look forward to. We only have a quick break. I came to offer my apologies for having to miss the meal."

"We understand. Although this is hardly what I had imagined when I invited you here for a break."

"Getting out of the city, I suppose is break enough, all things considered."

Bing nodded his agreement. "Did you want us to send something up?"

"If it is not too much trouble." He looked to Lizzie, "How is your sister?"

She blushed, knowing that he had caught her mid-study. "I think you should ask Bing, after all, he is the one who is going to be the doctor."

Bing laughed. "With plenty of rest she's going to be right as rain in no time."

They fell into silence after Darcy left and the first course was served. How many people nowadays ate three course meals on a weekday? She would never understand the rich.

"Bing," Lizzie began, growing uncomfortable at the silence, and finally letting her curiosity win. "Can I ask you something?"

"As long as it's not my medical opinion. For that, I charge. And technically, since I'm not yet licensed, I suppose it'd be illegal."

"It's about Darcy, actually." He nodded, urging her on, "What is it, exactly, that he does? I know that his family has a media empire - at least that's what Caroline called it - but what does he do in it?"

"He runs it."

She blinked. "He what? Isn't it an international company?"

"On three continents."

"And he runs it? All of it?"

"He's CEO of the main office. I think there's a board that technically runs the company. But Darcy sort of runs them. I think, he doesn't really go into details."

She seemed surprised. "But he's so young. He's what? 29? 30?"

"29 a couple months ago. There aren't as many men as dedicated to his job or family or friends as he is."

Thoughts were swarming, connections being made within her mind. The beginnings of understanding. Explanations for behaviours that she had never thought she'd want to explain were coming to her. That didn't sit well with her. No, she felt the need to know more and could only hope that the new information she would gather would put her new thoughts of him back on the familiar ground that once was her opinion of him.

"Bing," she began again after a long moment of consideration, her attention never straying from her barely touched salad, "Why does he run the family company?"

"Because my sister is too young, and my father left it to me," Darcy said from the doorway once more. His stance was rigid and aside from the one lifted brow, his expression was almost robotic. He was studying her closely.

She started at his voice, turning in her seat to see him. "Someone needs to give you a bell."

He smirked briefly before letting it fall into his staple stoic expression once more. "I came back for a refill." He explained, lifting the empty coffee mug.

"I'm sorry," Lizzie put in in a low tone, her eyes not able to meet his. "I shouldn't pry."

"It's alright," he assured her, moving past her, his body language not matching his words. "It was a long time ago, and I believe it is not classified information. You could have easily searched it on the internet."

Bing offered his friend a comforting smile, "I have to say, Darce, I searched you once, and there is not much of interest there," he looked at Lizzie, his eyes playful, "For someone whose company is so much in the media, there is not a lot to be said for William Darcy."

"And that is how I like it. Privacy is very important to me, after all."

~*~LBD~*~

On day 9 of their stay Lizzie found herself faced with more than one ethical dilemma: she had caught Bing on camera. It was an accident, sure. He had come upon Jane filming an update of their stay to Charlotte. Watching the two of them interacting on camera had been cute, even if sickeningly so. And it was just what her fans were calling for. She was torn. Should she finally give them what they wanted? What would her ethics professor think of this?

Adding to the sense of panic behind this issue, she was reminded of the other dilemma that she had been dealing with since hearing Darcy talk of his privacy. Lizzie Bennet was beginning to feel something that she never thought she would when it came to William Darcy. She felt guilty for talking about him, such a private and successful person, without his consent in front of thousands of strangers on the internet. Wait - was she coming to think of Darcy as an actual person? When did that happen?

It was while she was thusly saddled with these concerns that she phoned Charlotte, the beginnings of a good panic setting in.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked even before Lizzie had the chance to speak. This was the third time that her friend had called. There were three voicemails and more than one text urging her to listen to said voicemails. That wasn't quite like the Lizzie that she had anticipated during her time at Netherfield. She was anticipating the spitfire Lizzie. The Lizzie that had to be reminded to be fair and less judgmental. To have insecure, panicky Lizzie on the other end of the line was a surprise that didn't sit well with her best friend.

"I think we're going to hell."

"Okay," Charlotte said, trying to figure out how best to proceed, "Over dramatizing much? What's happening there? Have you been abducted by aliens?"

"I caught Bing on tape. But he doesn't know that he's on tape. Well he does, but he doesn't think it's for what it's actually for." She finally paused for a breath. "And I really want to post it. Do you know how many viewers we would get? Tons. What do you think?"

"That you are more like your mother than you'd like to think."

"Not helping!" She almost yelled. "Charlotte! What are we doing? Should we post the footage of Bing? Is it ethical? I mean he didn't sign a disclosure."

"Neither did Ricky, and he's fine with being on the videos."

"That's different. That's just Ricky and he knew about the blog. This is more... deceiving. And it's connected to Jane. I mean this is Bing!" She paused, not liking what her friend's reaction was going to be with what she had to say next. "And Charlotte... I've been thinking about Darcy..."

The other end of the line sighed, "How much more Darcy-bashing am I going to have to sit through? Because last time you might have gone too far. Calling him a chauvinistic misogynist just because of his views on a book written two hundred years ago."

"_You_ kept it in."

"Like _you_ would have let me cut it out?"

"Charlotte. Not. The. Point. Okay, actually it kind of is."

"Go on."

"I say a lot of stuff about Darcy in my videos. A lot of not nice things, I know."

"Not nice? That's putting it lightly."

"What do you want me to say?" She paused, "I've been thinking and I don't know if we should leave that stuff in."

"You want to go back and cut out EVERYTHING with Darcy in it? That's almost a quarter of the material. You've been kind of obsessed about him."

"I have not."

"Really? Cuz if it wasn't for how much you dislike him, I would swear you had a crush on him."

"I do not like Darcy! It's hard being in the same room as him! He's just so... so... GAH!"

Charlotte's tone was smiling, "And for a woman who knows six adjectives for obtuse, Gah just kind of goes and supports my argument. Listen, what's done is done. If you're so set on making amends to him, you could always apologize to him on your videos. Or tell him..."

"I didn't say I was wrong about him, per se. Just that I don't think the internet needs to know how right I am about him."

"Listen, the only way you can do that is to not talk about him. Or to talk about him in a more balanced way. Maybe do some research? Present to the audience with the other side and let them make up their minds for themselves."

"From what I gather from the comments, they've already made up their minds. And most not in the way I thought they would."

"Just think about it. And don't worry, I'll look over the footage of Bing tomorrow and go from there. You know, you could always just tell Bing about the videos."

"Yeah, and telling him would risk Darcy finding out and the last thing I need is the law suit that I will be slapped with if William Darcy ever found out that I had a video blog."

~*~LBD~*~

William Darcy was beginning to feel like a messenger. But then he supposed that was what he got for spending his time around the other residents at Netherfield instead of locked away in his room like he most likely would have been had Caroline been there. She did, after all, have a way of making him feel crowded when there was no one there besides the two of them.

After spending so much time the previous few days working, Bing insisted he join the others in the lounge. They were going to watch a movie once Lizzie joined them. Thinking that she had lost track of time, Jane had offered to go and get her. And because she still wasn't feeling well (although Darcy couldn't see how she looked very sick at all) Bing insisted that she stay where she was and offered himself or Darcy to go in her stead. It only took one look at his friend, the silent pleading to not to have to leave this woman who had charmed him so completely, before Darcy resigned himself to making that journey, even though everything in him would have rathered him not to.

He wasn't blind to Lizzie, as much as he had wished that he had been. It wasn't long into their knowing one another - as long as it took for her hand to touch his at the beginning of their dance at the wedding - for him to know the danger that she held for him.

Darcy wasn't by nature a man who trifled with women - not since he learned the price trifling often cost. He dated when he had to - at work functions mostly. And there wasn't much about him that spoke of knowing how to do things casually. He had thought himself in love only once, in college, and that, he admit, didn't last long. Looking back he knew what had sparked that relationship. It was his attempt to forget the hateful words that were spit at him at the end of one of the most important friendships of his life - at a time when loss was something that he seemed to know far too much of. First his mother, then father, then sister through grief and then his best friend through arrogance and believing him more than he could have actually ever have been. At the time, he needed to hold onto something.

He supposed that now, the same could be said. Reminders of the past had come back strong as of late. His sister heartbroken, his old friend now a new enemy bribed out of their life once more. He hadn't spoken to his sister since coming with Bing. It was the longest they've gone without taking since their parents died. But they both needed their space, although Darcy had known he wouldn't find much with his friend. At least not while Caroline was there, although he swore that she most likely meant well. After all, they both knew that she cared about him, even if he alone was aware that he would never care about her in the same way. But then again, he needed to feel the punishment of what had happened. Was that why he came along? Because he needed to hurt as badly as his sister had been. And suffering at Caroline's incessant attentions usually did the trick.

But then again, perhaps that was why he had been drawn to her that night - Elizabeth Bennet. Because she wasn't Caroline. She wasn't Gigi. She was something new and different. She wasn't the kind of girl that would fall easily at his feet the way most women had. She was something that he had always thought he had wanted. A challenge. And he thought he had understood her that first night when she met his eye and tried to make small talk despite the distance she held him at.

She was not meant to be a prize. She would not agree with him to appease him. The Darcy name meant nothing to her. She was intelligent and had spunk and didn't care how much money he had. He had never seen anyone quite like her. He wanted her.

And he had believed that she was warming to him during their interactions. That she felt the fire of their banter as he had. At least until he stopped outside the door that very evening and heard her say his name.

"I do not like Darcy!"

It became clear that she was on the phone. And after listening a few moments more, with baited breath, it became even more clear that he might have been wrong about her as he had about more things in his life than he would feel comfortable admitting to.

Hearing more than enough, he turned on his heel and marched back down the hall, no longer in the mood to be social. He was almost around the corner when he heard her door open and he knew that unless he turned back around he would be caught running away.

"Darcy?" She asked, stopping in her tracks from twenty paces away when she noticed him. Far enough away, he realized to look at her, to shoot him in the heart.

"Your sister and Bing were going to watch a movie. I was coming to see if you wanted to join them."

"Are you coming?" She looked uncomfortable, and considering what he had overheard, he wasn't surprised why. He had a feeling that being in the same room as he was would be the last place she would ever wish to be.

"Me? No. I have work to do. Please give them my apologies. Good night."

Not waiting for a reply he moved away from her, jaw clenched and movements automatic. Closing himself in his room he sat behind the cherry wood desk and opened the browser on his laptop. It took him all of thirty seconds to find them. He just had to type her name into a search engine and there they were. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. The first hit, just sitting there. Mocking him. He, the youngest CEO of one of the largest media companies, had been caught off guard and proved entirely wrong all because he never thought to utilize the search engine.

Back straightening even more, he clicked on the link, opening a playlist with 30 videos. Taking in a deep breath he pushed play on the first one, having a feeling he wouldn't like what was to follow.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: Trying to figure out Darcy's age and history in relation to taking over the company and his dealings with Wickham is hard... please forgive me if it doesn't really make sense.


	3. Changing Tactics

Disclaimer: As always not mine.

Author's Note: Please review, it makes me happy. And thank you to everyone who favourited and reviewed already. I can always use more.

The Netherfield Effect

3. Changing Tactics.

Darcy was shocked. Never had so few minutes changed his way of thinking so much. He had never thought he could have been so mistaken about someone since his childhood friend, as had been his thoughts about Lizzie Bennet and her opinions of him.

Perhaps it was because of disbelief or anger or a secret appeal for punishment but after watching them once, he played them again and again, pausing after every one that mentioned him, playing the events of the interactions over in his mind and comparing them with how she saw them.

Was he really the 'Stuck up, pompous prick' that she had accused him of being? Did he really come off as a "douche bag" that left people wondering how he had any friends at all?

Was that what she really thought of him?

It wasn't until the third time watching them through, after gaining a better understanding of himself through her eyes that he finally glimpsed a better understanding of her. And he had been wrong about her in more ways than he was comfortable with. Although he was loathed to admit that it was the ways that he had been right about her that left him even more off kilter.

And now that he knew where those two met - what she was and what he had only believed her to be - he felt himself truly in danger of her, of more than a mere attraction that he deemed a distraction. He now understood her. He understood her nature, her qualities and her humour and her honesty and the depth of her caring for those she loved despite her inability to respect them. But he also understood her faults. He knew now that they were more alike than either of them would most likely find comfortable. And as much as the knowledge both soothed and set him on edge he was torn with what to do next.

Despite being shy and awkward, Darcy was, at heart, a man of action. And he knew that there really was only one course for to him. He had to give her the same understanding of himself as he now had of her. He only hoped that it helped and that it would buy him the time to figure out why this was so important to him and what, exactly, he was hoping to gain.

~*~LBD~*~

"Lizzie," Jane called coming into the purple guest room with a bright expression, happy to finally be feeling well and more happier with the day that lay ahead of them. They were going wine tasting. "You ready?"

Lizzie shook her head from where she sat, before the camera, "No, Jane, I'm busy. You three go, have fun, get buzzed and do crazy things like getting matching tattoos! I think I'm going to stay here."

"Are you okay? I didn't get you sick, did I?"

"No, just... maybe you can help me with this." She turned to face her sister full on, the camera forgotten for the moment, "What do you think of Darcy?"

"What do you mean?" Her shoulders slumped. "Do you need to see if you're being fair to him again..."

"No, just, haven't you noticed that he's been acting funny since he got back?"

They had been at Netherfield for two weeks now and their stay had been prolonged when they discovered that their own home was not yet finished. Since the night Darcy bailed on watching a movie with them, he had left town on "business", only getting back the previous morning. Since his return he had been more relaxed and, if Lizzie was to admit it, more human.

"Bing said he went to see his friend Fitz. Fitz is apparently one of Darcy's oldest and closest friends. I suppose seeing him did Darcy some good?"

"I don't know, maybe. I still think that he's acting weird."

"I think he's trying to be nice. He held out my chair at supper last night. And he stood when you left to talk to Charlotte when she called."

"So he adopted manners, be it manners from the last century."

"Why does it bother you that he's changed? Especially since it's a change for the better?"

"I just don't trust it. And I know, I'm suspicious of people."

"Look, why not give him the benefit of the doubt? Just for today, come with us, be pleasant and refrain from making a judgement until tomorrow. You might just be surprised by what you find."

"Like what? That Darcy actually has a soul?" She sighed, and looked to the camera. "Alright, I'm coming. Don't worry everyone, I'll be back with stories of high adventures at over priced vineyards with pompous jerks." Jane cleared her throat. Lizzie's lips pressed together before faking a smile. "I mean Darcy."

~*~LBD~*~

Darcy was driving, not that that surprised Lizzie. He had always seemed to be the control-freak type. She had checked out his twitter - just for research - and saw that order even existed there. At least he was honest about it, she reasoned as she approached the car with Jane.

Bing, who had been sitting in the front with Darcy, jumped out at the sight of their approach, holding open the door to the convertible for the ladies. Jane went first into the back seat, and Lizzie was about to follow when the feel of Bing's hesitant fingers on her forearm gave her pause.

"Actually, Lizzie, if you don't mind, I thought that I might take the back with Jane."

Rolling her eyes at the cuteness of the pair, she gestured for him to go ahead. "By all means. This way I'll have veto power over any questionable music," she tried to tease as she slid into the passenger's seat.

Darcy handed her an mp3 player with what he hoped was an amused expression, "As my tastes have been called into question, why don't you choose?"

Taking the device with a confused smile, she started to look through the playlist. Even though Jane didn't say anything about it, Lizzie swore there was a change in Darcy. In the way he looked at her. It was as though he knew all the secrets that she held. But it was also a look that told her that her secrets, while no longer really hers, were safe with him. It unsettled her, and so she focused on the device in her hands instead.

And she was surprised by what she found. Darcy actually liked good music. Sure, most of if was obscure and there was more than one dead composer, but it was a truly eclectic mix of artists and genres.

"What?" He asked after catching her looking at him, mouth agape, the stereo still silent, "Can't find anything? I believe I have another in the..."

"No," she said quickly when he gestured to the glove compartment. "It's not that. This is a good selection."

"Then is there another reason you have yet to choose something?"

She fought a blush and she also fought to find the right words. "It's just, I didn't expect some of these songs from you. Some are downright mainstream."

He chuckled. Almost. "Well life can't all be probiotic lattes. I will confess that my sister did commandeer my player and put some life in it, as she calls it. While I find some of the love ballads trite, most of the artists she selected are well rounded."

As she listened to him, she continued to scroll through the song list until she stopped at one that made her laugh.

"My heart will go on?" She turned the screen to show him her find, "Please tell me that is one of your sister's?"

The grip on the wheel tightened, "She was going through a phase."

"First love?" She asked, almost knowingly, eyebrow cocked slightly. She watched as he nodded and she knew. "It didn't end well, did it?"

His jaw clenched before telling her no. Nodding, perhaps taking pity on him, Lizzie put on something calming. Some Nat King Cole. She watched as the melody and words worked through him, relaxing him. Once again she was struck by how human he really was. And how human she had never believed him to be.

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie had never been one for wine. Sure she drank it, and on more than one occasion drank too much of it, but she had never understood all the weird descriptions and talk about bouquets and bodies and dryness. Because really, how could a liquid really be dry?

"I don't really think I like wine, to be honest," she admitted as they stepped out of the car, surprised when Darcy showed up at her door to hold it open.

"Then you simply have not had the right kind," he told her with a certainty that she once would have taken for being above her. Now... while her head wanted to scream that he was a jerk, there was something there that gave her pause. It was a thirst to find out for sure.

"Are you calling yourself an expert?"

"Hardly. I merely know what I like. But while we are here, you might discover a little about your own tastes."

By the time they left Lizzie had learned that she will always prefer white wine to red, and the difference between dry and sweet wines. She also learned that a little taste went a long way. She felt a buzz that wasn't from pleasure with how her day was going.

Not that it wasn't going alright. She was enjoying watching Bing and Jane interact and growing closer moment by moment. And she was even enjoying the groove that she found Darcy and herself fall into. Lizzie had never fenced but she loved watching movies where swordfights were well done. Her favourite was Princess Bride where Inigo and Westley dueled with both hands back and forth across the ruins atop the Cliffs of Insanity. That was how she pictured her banter with Darcy that day. It was a verbal dance. That day she felt almost like an artist with her words. And Darcy had been a part of that. A partner. He challenged her. He bettered her even as he met her insult for barb. He made her strive to best him. He made her want to dance.

She was still lost in these thoughts at dinner. They had made a side trip to a fun and hip restaurant that Jane had told her about months before, saying that she would someday like to try it. And Lizzie, though not paying full attention at the time, could now see why. It was happy, with lively music and a dance floor. It was a place that stepped out of the movies that Lizzie and Jane had grown up on. The kind of movies that both women had wanted to fall in love on.

Bing was laughing when Jane caught him looking at Darcy, and with only the briefest amount of urging got him to share the private joke.

"I was just thinking of the wedding," he admitted, shooting Darcy an apologetic look, "When you two danced." He started laughing again when Darcy shifted uncomfortably and Lizzie looked confused. "That was the most awkward dance I have ever seen. Especially since..."

"Since?" Lizzie prodded, not like being left out, "Since what?"

"Since I had dancing lessons since I was ten." He shot Bing a look that left none of those at the table confused as to it's meaning. "My mother felt that every man should know how to dance."

"No way!" Jane laughed. "So what? That dance was all Lizzie's fault?

"I am not a bad dancer!"

Jane tried to hide her smile, "I'm sure Lydia would disagree with you there."

"To be fair, waltzing is much different than dance video games."

Lizzie paused and looked at him, wondering how he had known...

Jane was standing, emboldened by the wine and the joy of the day. She held out her hand to Darcy, eyebrow raised. "Shall we?"

Ever the gentleman, Darcy looked to Bing, seeking any sign that the other man objected. Finding none, Darcy stood, buttoning his suit jacket as he took Jane's hand in his and led her to the floor, his expression showing him to be resigned to his fate. Lizzie turned in her chair to watch them for a moment before she was aware of movement beside her. Bing was standing, asking her to dance. Knowing that her reputation was on the line, and later figuring that the added wine - a pinot - at the table probably helped, she quickly allowed him to take her to the floor, where the other couple were already proving that Darcy had managed to hide rather well at the wedding the lessons of his youth.

If there was ever a cliche of dancing mixed pairs, it was that sooner or later, the couples would right themselves out. For Lizzie that came at the end of the second song when Bing offered Darcy Lizzie's hand in the place of Jane's. He took it tentatively, both of them seeming more nervous now that they were to dance together.

"We've both been vindicated alone," she told him, trying to ease her own nerves that caught her off guard. She hoped it was just because she was buzzed and he had always been judgmental. "Maybe we're just not meant to dance together."

"Perhaps," he allowed, the muscles in his jaw tight, drawing her closer to him, "I suppose there is only one way to be sure."

He led. This time with a confidence and assurance that she couldn't help but feel through the contact of his hand in hers and his other on her back, guiding her around the floor with an ease and grace that only someone who had practiced it would be allowed. And while he easily had it, she, it seemed, did not. At least not at first.

After the second time she stepped on his toes he stopped, and she apologized, not looking at him. She didn't need him having yet another reason to think why he was better than she was. "And here I thought ballroom dancing was suppose to be easy for women."

"Depends on the woman," he allowed, fixing his frame into a proper dancing pose, his expression determined. "And how easily she wants the man to lead her."

"Are you saying that I'm being difficult?"

An eyebrow quirked, "Well, if the accusation fits." Another attempt at a joke?

She rolled her eyes, "One more try." She said even as she placed her hand in his, allowing her other hand to travel up from his elbow to his shoulder. "I think I'm getting it."

For a moment she thought he had fidgeted at the contact. Did she make him uncomfortable? She quickly shook that thought aside for another, more realistic one when he adjusted her hand's positioning on his shoulder. He was just showing her how she had been wrong. Or, perhaps, how to be better.

His fingers began to tap against her right hand the beat of the music, his right hand finding the spot just between her shoulder blades, drawing her closer to him and onto her toes so that they were almost touching, his right leg positioned between hers, the material of her dress and his slacks the grateful barrier as their limbs grazed one another.

Her breath caught in her throat when she met his eye, holding her gaze as he guided her steps forward, around him as he pivoted and paused. She wanted to look away. She wanted to check her steps. She wanted to know that she wasn't going to step on his feet again. But she didn't. She couldn't look away from his eyes. Once again he knew her secrets. Once again he was holding them - and her along with them - safe. There was almost a pleading there in his eyes as he urged her steps back by his body coming towards her, his legs brushing against her thighs as they moved. He wanted for her to trust him, to follow him. He wanted her to see that in this moment, they were equal.

~*~TBC~*~


	4. Coming Clean

Disclaimer: Not Mine, so please don't sue. I'm as poor as Lizzie.

Author's Note: BIG thank you for all the great reviews, please keep them coming. They make me happy! And happy me posts faster.

The Netherfield Effect.

4. Coming Clean.

For the first time in her life Lizzie understood the allure of dancing, and also the sexuality that had banned waltzing for years from being practiced within good society. That night, she was surprised to find that she could have fallen in love with that kind of dancing. As it was, that realization only added to her growing confusion. Two weeks spent around Darcy had made her question everything she had ever thought she had known about him, and even a few things she had thought she knew about herself as well. And she couldn't understand why or when or how that was even happening. It wasn't suppose to be this way. She was suppose to hate him. So why was she finding it so hard to hold onto those thoughts that she had carried into this house?

Taking a steadying breath in the safety of her guest room she sat at her computer and searched William Darcy on the internet. She read about the death of his father while Darcy was still completing his masters degree, a year younger than Lizzie now was. She read how he maintained his education while learning the ropes of the company. She read about Darcy's sister who was barely a teenager when it had all happened.

Sitting back she did the math. When Darcy was her age he had taken over the company, having completed his MBA while juggling his responsibilities to his company, his sister and his father's memory, a juggling act that he has maintained ever since... No wonder he didn't know how to interact with people.

With these new thoughts spinning in her mind, she went back to her videos and watched them once more. By the end she was aware of two things: she might have allowed her prejudices to cloud her judgment of Darcy, and based upon some his comments that day, there was the probability that he might have already seen her videos.

~*~LBD~*~

She couldn't sleep. Despite the late hour of their return, how tired her feet were from dancing and the tour of the vineyard, and the hours she had since spent going over hier videos and the slight information that she had found on Darcy. That he was the cause of her sleeplessness bothered her more than she'd like. Especially after the awkward way that he had bid her goodnight.

It reminded her of more than one first date when she was dropped off at her door and the guy wasn't quite sure how to say goodbye. But surely that wasn't a fair analogy for their situation. After all, she wasn't dating Darcy. Sure, he did pay. And he held open her door and even put the top up on the car when he noticed her shiver in the night air. But... that didn't make it a date.

No. She hadn't been on a date with William Darcy. She couldn't have been. But then... why did she kind of feel like she had?

Growing frustrated, she moved to the kitchen, hoping to find something there to ease her mind and discomfort enough to allow her to find sleep that evening. She wondered if she should talk to Jane about her worries about that and about Bing finding out about the videos - another reason she tried to tell herself that sleep eluded her. After all, since Jane was dating Bing, wouldn't she have better insight into how he would take the news? And whether or not he would tell Darcy...

She was caught off guard by the light coming from under the kitchen's swinging door, wondering who else could he baving the same issues sleeping as she was. She was less surprised to find Darcy standing by the open fridge, his hair rumpled, wearing plain cottom pajama bottoms and a thin t-shirt. It struck her as odd that his feet were bare. More and more he seemed less like the caricature that she had made of him and more real.

She didn't like it, and she hated that it was happening so fast. She hated changing her mind, no matter how many facts and truths were put in her way.

"I didn't know anyone else was up." She explained when he rose an eyebrow at her, off guard at seeing her there. Especially since her pajamas left more of her bare to the night air than just her feet.

Clearing his throat, he looked back into the fridge. "Ice cream?" He asked, holding out the small tub of double chocolate mint.

Was it a peace offering? She studied him a moment, wondering just what was going on behind his stoic exterior. She sighed, losing her battle not to smile. She was too tired to overthink. Too tired to fight. Too tired to do anything but take the moment as it was, especially if that moment included ice cream.

"I'll get the spoons." Her smile widened when he looked confused. "Don't tell me you're too high and mighty to not use a bowl."

He frowned, moving to the counter. "I am not as high and mighty as you assume me to be."

She pulled a bar stool up next to his, her expression challenging, "Prove it. Risk the cooties." She held out the spoon.

He rolled his eyes before taking the silver cutlery from her, proving himself a gentleman by allowing her the first scoop.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked when she got tired of the long and awkward silence. She kept her eyes safely on the ice cream as she filled her spoon once more.

"Apparently not." He took a deep breath and she watched from her peripheral vision as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Me either," she confessed, wondering if this was the moment to ask about her videos, knowing that when she did there would be no going back.

"Preoccupied?"

"Pretty much. You?"

He nodded a single time, drawing her eyes to his face. He was so young when he had lost his family. So young when he had to become a businessman and provider. She couldn't imagine being in his position. Was that why he was always so serious? Why he was so closed off? Was that why he was drawn to people with lively dispositions? Because they reminded him of what he never had the chance to be?

"May- may I ask you a question?" He began after a moment, his back straight and muscles tightening under the thin material of his shirt. "About your sisters?"

He fidgeted, debating even as he said the words if this was a good idea. But the truth was that he had long given up hopes of understanding the situation. Having another opinion might give him insight that he couldn't possibly think to gather, never having been a young woman who had just had her heart broken and blamed her brother for bringing it about. But he had mixed feelings with Lizzie being that opinion, that ear. While he knew that she would be honest with him, and he knew that it would be good for him to open up and express his insecurities... he was worried that she would air them on her blog. Was she really as trustworthy as he had hoped her to be?

Taken aback but curious, she nodded. "Sure, I guess."

He supposed that he was going to find out. He wet his lips, more nervous than he thought he would be for anything not a declaration of love. "I think, first, I should explain. My sister was young when our parents died."

"She was fourteen. Google," she explained when his eyes widened.

"A source of much information," He conceded. "Then as you know, I took care of her as much as I could. Our aunt helped, but... Gigi wasn't like other girls her age. She has an old soul."

"Much like you do," she put in when he paused, surprising them both with the comment.

He flushed at the comment but pushed on. "She never went through the phase that I'm told all young women go through. The teenage rebellious phase. At least, not until recently."

"When she fell in love?"

He nodded. "When it ended, she blamed me for... interfering."

She took another scoop of ice cream. "Did you?"

"Yes, I did. However, my intentions were honorable. The hurt she felt when it ended was far less than it would have had I let him take advantage of her..." he stopped abruptly. "I shouldn't have..."

She shook her head, more interested than she would have believed possible two weeks ago. "No, not at all. Go on, I promise that I won't tell anyone."

He still wasn't sure if he believed her. They sat in silence a long moment, both wondering if he was going to continue. "She was angry at me. And we fought. We have never fought before."

"Never? Even Jane and I have gotten into it growing up. You've seriously never fought with your sister?"

"There is nine years between us in age. I was away most of her childhood, first at boarding school and then university. What we knew of one another was learnt over letters and summer vacations. After the accident, I suppose I was more of a father figure to her than a brother. We were all each other had left. Fitz says that she looked up to me as a sort of hero."

"And her hero fell." He nodded. "So now you're just her big brother who wants to keep her safe."

"She is an adult now, I know, and she doesn't seem to want a protective brother anymore."

"Yes she does," Lizzie assured him, "Trust me. As a younger sibling and an older one, I can tell you that while we want our independence and to prove that we are grown up and mature and never wrong, there are still times when we want to be protected and to have someone else to make everything right."

"Perhaps..."

She laughed, nudging him with her elbow. "Oh come on, you make it sound like you've never felt that way before."

He looked at her as though she was an alien, a look that she would have at one time thought meant he was looking down at her. How strange how quickly she was coming to second guess her understanding of his expressions now that she was allowing herself believe him having them.

"I have a company to run and responsibilities and..." he stopped when he noticed her, chin in hand, critical expression on her face. "What?"

"Just wondering when you first believed you were superman. Darcy, it's perfectly natural to want that kind of contact from another person from time to time. Whether from a parent or sibling or friend or..."

"Significant other?"

"Yeah." She felt uncomfortable under his gaze, "I hear those can be nice. Not that I know much about that. I am after all..."

"Perpetually single?" He finished for her.

She stiffened beside him, looking like a deer in the headlights when she looked at him. No one had said that in front of him. There was no way for him to know that unless... "You know about my videos."

"I do. Google."

"Wealth of information. And you've seen them? Al-all of them?"

He nodded, "I did."

"When?

"Before I went away. They were why I went away."

She tried to remind herself to breath without hyperventilating. "Why didn't you say anything? Why aren't you angry at me?" She paused. "Why aren't you suing me? Wait, are you suing me?"

"No, I am not going to sue you."

"Why? I was horrible."

"You said nothing in your depictions that did not contain some aspect of truth. Besides, do you know how much lawsuits cost?"

"No, can't say that I do. Don't you business types keep lawyers on retainer? I can pretty much guarantee that you'd win. Not that you'd get much."

"I don't need anything that a lawsuit would bring."

She nodded, trying to accept his words and calm the thoughts in her head. "Okay then... why not with the hate, then?"

"Hate is a strong word. And while I am often quick to anger, I hope that I am not quick to hate because I have been known not to change my mind once I find myself hating something."

"So you'll keep me posted on the hating me thing. Got it." She smiled when he broke into a grin. She met his eye again, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Taking a deep breath in, feeling both more awake than she had all day and more worn out than she had started, she stood, bid him goodnight and made her way to the door, pausing midway through. "Darcy, don't worry about your sister, she just needs time to work what happened out for herself. She'll realize what she's doing and she'll be sorry for how things are between you. Because heroes are only in stories, while big brothers that look out for you are something real. And, if your sister is anything like her big brother, I think she's going to be okay."

~*~LBD~*~

"You're in a good mood," Jane almost teased when she sat down beside Lizzie on the latter's bed, her laptop set out, skyping with Charlotte.

Lizzie merely rolled her eyes.

"Lizzie was just filling me in on how yesterday went." Charlotte put in when Lizzie didn't rise to her sister's bait.

Jane's expression brightened even further, "Did she tell you how she spent most of the night dancing with Darcy?"

"Really? No, no she did not."

"And, she was even flirting!"

"I was not!"

"Lizzie," Jane laughed, "Don't make me put on the hat. Why can't you admit that you like him?"

"That you've always liked him," Charlotte pointed out.

"Cuz I... Listen, this isn't why I asked you two to meet with me. I need to know what we're going to do about Bing and the videos. I mean, we've showed him on them, without his knowledge. I just don't know if that's right."

"I think you should tell him. I'm sure he'll be fine with it," Jane assured her.

"But remember why you didn't want him to know in the first place," Charlotte reminded them, "Darcy."

"I don't think we have to worry about Darcy," Lizzie confessed, looking at the ceiling, "I found out he's already watched them."

"When?"

"He told me last night after you went to bed."

"Sneaking off to see him in the middle of the night?"

"Charlotte, stop. All I know is that he's not yet planning on suing me, so that's a plus."

"Then why not tell Bing if the worry about Darcy is no longer a worry?"

"Lizzie," Charlotte put in, "What are you going to talk about now that both of your main topics of discussion will be part of your viewing audience?"

"One battle at a time. First to figure out how to tell Bing... Jane, any chance you want to do it while naked?"

Jane rolled her eyes, "Lizzie, would you stop making my relationship dirty?"

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie was frozen in place outside the lounge, waiting for Jane to join her. They had decided to tell Bing together. Lizzie was nervous. More nervous than she thought she would be. Countless people watched her videos - strangers. But to have someone she knew find out? Someone she had come to like and to care about his opinions... that was difficult. Difficult to the point where she was having trouble thinking of things to say on camera. She knew that had things been different she just would have continued going off on Darcy. But now that things were different, even if she didn't really know how they had become different... it just wasn't right any more. And now to add Bing into the mix, to have him know about her past misconceptions and about her mother's schemes... well if those didn't scare him away, Jane definitely had a keeper on her hands.

"Are you alright?" Darcy asked, laptop tucked under his arm as he approached her, his expression almost relaxed. "Is there something wrong with the door?"

"Only that I will soon have to open it."

"I don't believe I understand..."

"I'm telling Bing about the videos. Jane and I are telling him. The only reason we haven't already is because of well, you. And my mother but, mostly you. If he had found out then you would have found out and probably sue me but since you know, he probably should too since he could also have grounds to sue me. Why didn't people warn me about the possibility of being sued?

"Oh!" She said, remembering something. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, "Here."

"What is this?"

"Our settlement agreement. For you not sueing me."

He read it, eyebrow quirking. "Your first born child?"

"Probably worth more than my soul right now. So you better snatch that deal up before I promise little Pablo to the cable guy to get me free pay-per-view."

He folded the paper, "Actually Lizzie, I will make you a deal. I will not sue you, nor will I take little Pablo from his future mother's care in return for one thing."

"A girl?"

"Dinner."

He seemed nervous when he asked her. Nervous in a way that she now recognized from the first time they danced. Nervous in a way that told her this wasn't going to be a group activity.

A date. William Darcy was asking her on a date. And her mother help her, she was tempted.

"Dinner? … Just you an..."

"I thought Bing and your sister could use an evening to themselves."

"Considerate."

"I have my moments, when they suit my cause. May I remind you that you have not yet answered me."

"You caught that, huh?"

His shoulders sagged, "I understand if you do not..."

"No, it's not that. It's just..."

"Lizzie," Jane said coming between the pair, "You forgot this in your room." She held out Lizzie's phone. "You've gotten a few texts." Her smile grew teasing, "I think it might be George."

Taking the phone in hand, Lizzie frowned, not noticing Darcy's expression change. "George Wickham? He hasn't texted me since he... It _is_ him. What could he..."

"Excuse me," Darcy told them tersely before going into the lounge, leaving the door ajar.

"What's with him?" Jane asked, both of them watching him go. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yeah, kind of. I think." She blinked, admitting to the possibility of something almost for the first time. "Jane, do you think it might be possible that Darcy might like me? Like, 'like' likes me."

"Of course, who wouldn't like my little sister?"

"Jane, I need honesty here, not big sister support."

"We've been telling you he likes you for months now, what are you... why are you freaking out about this?"

"I am not freaking out. I'm confused. He was out here asking me on a date and then you come out and mention George and he goes all robotic and cold and leaves."

"Maybe he's jealous? What did George want anyway?"

"'Just thinking of you, Peach. Hope your summer is a blast.'"

Jane shared her sister's frown as she led the way into the room. "That's not a very personal message, is it? Maybe he's busy?"

"I don't know and I'd rather not think about it now."

She put her phone away and looked up. She had two choices in front of her: join her sister and talk to Bing about the videos, or go to Darcy and bath in awkward silence that would be the unanswered invitation that hung between them. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know if he still wanted to go with her or if it was just a moment of insanity on his part.

As she joined Jane and Bing on the couch to break the news that she had talked about him behind his back, she had to hand it to Darcy, only he could make that confession seem like the better of two possible options.

~*~TBC~*~


	5. Caroline's Back

Disclaimer: Not mine, so please don't sue. I can't even offer you a Pablo. I already promised him to the cable guy.

Author's Note: I just went back and fixed all the scene break errors that I found. I apologize for the confusion, I hope that this problem has been fixed.

Please R&R, and thank you to everyone who already has. Keep them coming!

The Netherfield Effect

5. Caroline's Back.

It seemed that Lizzie worries thus far about probable lawsuits were for naught and Bing Lee took the news of her videos better than Lizzie thought he would. At first he looked between the two women as though they had told him a joke that he didn't know should be funny. It wasn't until he heard confirmation from Darcy that he tried to believe them. Confused and curious, he left to watch them, especially upon hearing that he was a topic of much discussion in them. Jane went with him, hoping to be able to explain away any doubts or feelings of anger that might arise during the viewing.

They watched the growing playlist before supper and upon seeing them later, Lizzie swore that they seemed closer for having watched them - as though any doubts either of them had about the other had been washed away. They looked happy. And it made Lizzie happy to know that she didn't take away from that feeling. They deserved one another.

A part of her even felt that she might have actually helped their relationship, wondering what might have happened had Bing not seen how her sister talked about him when he wasn't there to cause her to blush and trip over her words. Which was why Lizzie felt that it was such a cruel punishment for helping bring them closer together, when Bing to tell them that Caroline was coming back. It was one of the few times in the little over two weeks they had been there that Lizzie wished the construction on her house would hurry up and finish.

"I can't wait to show her your videos, Lizzie." Bing told her with happiness in pride in his friend's abilities.

Fear flashed across her face as she caught Darcy's eye. If he found it amusing he didn't show it. However, he did seem to understand her sense of panic, "You might want to offer her little Pablo."

"All things considered, I might have to offer her twins."

~*~LBD~*~

She came across Darcy hiding in the library. Caroline had been back two days and the house had gotten even smaller, especially since she had watched Lizzie's videos on top of seeing how attached her brother was to the girl that was just suppose to be a summer fling. At least she found Darcy to seem much the same - at least to her. To everyone else however... While the changes in his outward expressions were slight, they were enough for someone who found herself becoming an unwilling student of William Darcy to pick up on.

And while Caroline tried to seem everything friendly and polite to her brother's guests, Lizzie could see through the cracks of that visage. Had she not have noticed the differences in both men's behaviours while she was away, Lizzie might never have realized how fake she really seemed to be around them all. And she was going to dedicate a blog post to it, but she had only gotten as far as to call her 'manipulative' and 'preferring men to women because of her ability to use her feminine charms and allurements' before Caroline herself came in and proceeded to make Lizzie's point for her. And while she knew that Charlotte's editing was responsible for some of how she was depicted, most resulted in Lizzie's failure to be sucked in. All in all, Lizzie would admit the video to be a far fairer attempt than it probably would have been had she not been staying under the same roof with the woman.

That episode had just been posted that day (marking her third week at Netherfield) and it got mixed reviews from her hosts and fellow guests: Bing thought it was amusing, Jane thought it was harsh, Caroline was pissed and Darcy had thus far not been seen. It was also why Lizzie had decided that it would be best for her to stay away from Caroline, and there was really no better room for that in Netherfield than the library. Caroline had thus far not proved herself a very literary individual.

That was where she found Darcy, and she quickly wondered if he had come here to hide as well. He had spent a lot of time in recent days avoiding conversation with Lizzie almost as much as he avoiding it with Caroline. She had come to discover over the course of the previous two days that she didn't really like that thought. And she had _almost_ convinced herself that it was because she didn't like being compared to Caroline.

He looked up from his book when he heard her come in and freeze halfway across the room when she noticed him as well.

"I take it that she saw it?" He asked, turning a page.

Nodding, she moved to the chair opposite him, for the moment preferring his coldness to Caroline's pissed-offness. "Oh did she ever."

"That explains the text Bing sent earlier. Apparently he and Jane are spending the evening out tonight."

"Running away seems like a good idea. Course, in hindsight, probably so would have _not_ uploading that video."

Frowning, he put his book down, "Then why did you?"

"Technically it was Charlotte. She does edit them."

"I am aware that you know her well enough by now in this little venture to understand that she would not edit out something like that. So the question is, why did you do it? Do you truly dislike her that much to allow her to be depicted in such a manner?"

She looked taken aback, "And here I thought I had been fair. She said it all herself. I was trying to be nice."

"Yes," he replied stiffly, "I am aware of how you are when you do not worry about being as nice towards your subject."

A part of her wanted to point out to him and his superior tone that she had held back while she had talked about him in her videos. But the larger part of her told her that that fact probably wouldn't help in this discussion.

"What do you want from me? To not say things how I see them?"

"I would hope that perhaps you would take the time to get to know people instead of being content with willfully misunderstanding them. People watch your videos. They listen to your opinions. What you say touches people. For good, and for not. Peoples judgments of Caroline are being coloured by your words. Your prejudices are becoming theirs."

"I don't think you give my audience enough credit," she challenged.

"How so?"

"After all the things I said about you, they still seemed to like you."

"It is nice to know that at least your audience shows sense even if you do not."

She blinked at his tone. "Excuse me? Did you really just chastise me? William Darcy, I am not your sister. Nor am I one of your employees. You don't get to talk to me like that. They might have to take it, but I don't."

"I apologize. When I hear people acting childish, I feel it my place to point it out."

Her mouth hung open. Fine. If he wanted to play like that... "Now I really don't believe that your sister and you never fought growing up. You are too infuriating not too."

He smirked. "Well, it is a good thing you are not my sister, then."

His eyes met hers and his tone had changed. And she couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks. "Yes. It certainly is."

He looked away when his phone buzzed. He checked it, both glad for the diversion. He sighed and set it aside without answering.

Lizzie had more than a guess at who it was. "Caroline?"

"Yes. She is wondering where I am so she can discuss what we should do about you."

"And what shall you do with me?"

He wanted to tell her that he had some ideas, but paused, knowing that it wouldn't help, nor would he give her the satisfaction of such an admission. "Perhaps I should tell her where she can find you so she can discuss it with you directly?"

"You could. Or you could call in your settlement." She said with a hopeful smile. "The dinner," she quickly added, her blush growing when he smirked, "Not the baby. Come on, let's sneak out and paint the town a hipster shade of red. Please? That has to be more fun than risking getting caught by Caroline. My treat?"

He thought a moment before marking his place in the book and setting it aside. "Ill get my coat."

~*~LBD~*~

"You are so uncivilized," Lizzie laughed, watching Darcy turn his nose up at the street vendor selling what Lizzie had called 'questionable meat products'. She had bought one anyway, smiling wider when he insisted on paying, enjoying even more his reaction when she took a bite. "Have you ever had one?"

"Not sober," he explained, shaking his head when she offered him a bite. "My last experience with them has left me without the desire to create more."

Her step faltered. She couldn't picture William Darcy the partier, doing keg stands and benders and throwing up and forgetting where and with whom he was waking up with. "Was that in another life?"

"Freshmen and sophomore years, so I suppose it was another life. Ivy league kids do know how to party," he told her when he caught her questioning look.

"Good thing I didn't go to Yale, then. I don't think I could have handled finding that out."

"You wanted to go to Yale?"

She nodded, laughing at the surprise in his voice, "I did. I even got accepted."

"Why didn't you go?"

"The universal truth of the real world."

He nodded, "Money."

"Exactly. It was expensive and I didn't really know what I wanted to do and so I figured if I was going to waste time and countless thousands of dollars trying to figure my future out, I might as well do it from the comfort of my own room."

"I am sure your family liked having you close."

She nodded, letting the quiet wash over her. She and Darcy were walking into one of the upscale neighbourhoods on the far end of town, where they were the least likely to run into anyone either of them knew. There was comfort in being where they weren't likely to be discovered. It gave them permission to be at ease with one another. Something that Lizzie didn't think had ever truly happened before.

"So, where shall I wine and dine you?" She asked, looking at the line of restaurants with their twinkle lights and patios and night time diners. "Since street meat is apparently out of the question."

"A gentleman never lets a lady pay for dinner." He told her, smiling despite his best efforts to refrain, his hand at the small of her back, guiding her towards one that he had heard Bing talk about after taking Jane there not too long before.

"Oh really? Even if the lady initiated the date?"

He wanted to point out that she had called this a date, but he refrained, his only tell that his smile was even wider. "Technically, I did the initiating."

She rolled her eyes, "That was days ago. Today is a fresh day with new expectations, ergo, it is a new dinner offer."

"So I still have claim to little Padro?"

"I guess so," she continued as they were being led to their table. They were silent as the waiter held out Lizzie's chair for her. Ever the gentleman, Darcy didn's take his seat until she was situated.

He tried not to look smug as he opened his menu, "I guess that also means that you owe me another date."

She eyed him over her own menu, "Let's just see how this one goes first, okay bucko?"

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie was enjoying herself. She laughed and bantered and teased in a way that felt strange and yet was growing to be second nature with the man sitting opposite her at the table. And even more strangely was how they slipped into easy conversation about her degree, and his friend Fitz and sister and how much Lizzie would enjoy both of their company's. It was enough that she didn't even notice that they weren't as well dressed as the other diners, or that there wasn't a vineyard on the list that she recognized, or that there were no prices listed on the menu. For that moment it was like she was dancing with him again. During that meal, they were on equal ground.

He was telling her a story of his first meeting Bing when the bill came. He didn't even break eye contact as he took it, fishing out a credit card from his wallet and handing both back to the waitress that Lizzie had thought was far more beautiful than she, herself, was. She had watched him through the evening, and if he had thought the same, he didn't let it show.

She had to give Darcy credit - when he wanted to be, he was certainly smooth. She remembered one of her videos when Charlotte lamented that his game needed improvement. Maybe he had been holding back. Or maybe he was out of his element in that bar surrounded with those people - her people she remembered with a frown - but here, he was in a league of his own.

"What's wrong?" He asked after he signed the check, noting the joy of her expression was now gone.

"Nothing. It's silly."

"If it causes you to frown, it can hardly be considered nothing."

"I just remembered that you belong to this world of three course meals and many tiny forks and ballroom dancing lessons; and I'm from the world of coupons and dingy bars and dance dance revolution."

He didn't say anything. Instead he stood, and moved to her chair, "May I show you some place I recently discovered?"

Curious, she nodded, a shadow of her smile returning when he pulled out her chair and helped her with her sweater. She was beginning to like the world he lived in. The world that she had spent most of her life mocking because it was easier than admitting that she didn't like how it looked down on her. And while she thought she would never fully fit into that world, a part of her suddenly wanted to try.

~*~LBD~*~

She laughed. She couldn't help it. William Darcy had brought her to look out point. She hadn't been there since high school.

"Thought we'd do some parking?" She teased, her smile growing when she watched him blush, "Very presumptuous of you, there, Darce."

He almost squirmed in his seat, "I- This- When I first arrived here, I couldn't see what had possessed my friend to want to stay here. It was so different from everything I have ever believed him to know. In fact it was different from everything I had grown up knowing. I never went to public schools or local theatres or picnics where children and adults were allowed to intermingle. I am sure you would call it a deprived upbringing."

She smiled, knowing that she almost had.

"So, after failing to convince him otherwise, I took a drive one night, to calm my temper. And I came here. And for a moment, I understood what appealed to him."

"Go on," she urged when he fell silent, never comfortable or confident at expressing himself in words.

Instead he got out of the car. Not quite understanding, she watched him come over to her side and open the door, holding out his hand to her. She took it tentatively and studied him as she followed his lead. They were the only ones at the point overlooking the glittering lights of the town. But Darcy wasn't focused on the view before them, his eyes were looking skyward where the stars were shining brightly, his expression calm.

"We don't have a view like this in San Francisco. Or at Harvard. Or the boarding school where I learned to think myself having the best manners that money could buy."

"I used to come up here all the time as a kid," she confessed as she allowed him to lead her to the front of his car, only noticing when he dropped it that he had still been holding her hand. "When Jane and I fought, or Lydia and I, or Mom and I, or... well, anytime there was fighting, I would come here with my astronomy book and pick out the constellations."

He stretched out on the hood of his car, gesturing for her to join him. "I only ever learned where the big dipper was," he admitted, pointing it out to her in the night sky.

She smiled, "That's actually the little dipper. The big one is over there," she corrected, proud that there was something in this world that she knew more about than he did. "I suppose you had more important things to do than learn the stars."

"Like?"

"Learn to ballroom dance and get the finest manners that money could buy?"

"Table manners, the ability to recite the presidents of two countries in order and how to do the tango mean very little when you can't appreciate the beauty around you."

She shrugged, looking at him through the light of the night sky. "Maybe. But you're appreciating it now, so that has to count for something."

She shivered. A combination of her words, his gaze upon her and the night air leaving her breath shallow, her nerves on edge and her skin covered with tiny bumps. He sat up, removing his jacket, and handed it to her without comment.

She thanked him as she put it on, smiling wider when he settled back down beside her, intent on enjoying the moment. She didn't know much about him, but she knew from Bing that he didn't spend much time away from work or concerns about those in his life. He didn't take a lot of time for himself and to relax. She found herself glad that he was having this moment to unwind. Glad that she was sharing it with him.

"So," he began, drawing her thoughts back to the moment, "Where is Orion's belt?

~*~LBD~*~

She was cold when she woke up. At first she didn't know where she was. The sun was starting to rise and she was on something cold and hard and she didn't have any blankets. She certainly wasn't in any bed. And what she had thought was a pillow was actually an arm belonging to someone else. Her phone was ringing, pulling her into the world that she felt was alien becoming real.

She was on the hood of Darcy's car, and she was using his arm as a pillow. She glanced over at him, seeing him stir awake as well.

"Phone..." he mumbled and from his expression, she knew that he was confused too.

"Mine." Her voice was rough from sleep when she answered, sitting up, tucking her messy hair behind her ear as she did so. "Hello?"

"Lizzie!" It was Jane and she sounded panicked. Lizzie pulled the phone from her ear to check her display. It was 6am and she had four missed calls and half a dozen text messages.

"Jane? What's up? What's wrong?"

"I've been calling you all night! What happened, are you okay? We didn's know where you were and I got so worried when you didn't come back."

"Calm down, I'm okay. I went out to supper with Darcy last night."

"That was twelve hours ago. What..." she paused, lowering her voice, "Did you spend the night with him?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes. She was not awake enough to deal with this. "Not like that, Jane. Listen, we'll be back soon. I'll talk to you then."

"You did spend the night with him!"

"Nothing happened! Bye Jane." She hung up with a huff, not able to look Darcy in the eye. She knew that Jane was going to tell Charlotte with whom Lizzie spent the night and she knew that there was no way that fact was going to not make it into the videos.

She groaned. Her viewers weren't going to believe this, but she knew they were going to love it all the same.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: I'm from eastern Canada, so all are guesses about sunrises, temperatures, street meat venders, constellations and views in California.


	6. Wickham's Tale

Disclaimer: please don't make me say it again.

Author's Note: Please insert something witty and or moving. Oh, and please continue to review, favourite and follow.

The Netherfield Effect.

6. Wickham's Tale

Lizzie Bennet had never felt jealous of people who didn't have parents until her mother told her three a half weeks into their stay at Netherfield that the house still wasn't ready. She needed out of that place. She needed away from Caroline, who hadn't been able to pretend to be civil to her since watching her and Darcy slink back into the house wearing what they had left in, hair messed, his tie askew, her shoes in hand and still wearing his coat. While both were adamant that nothing had happened, no one believed them. Had they lived a couple hundred years in the past she had a feeling that he would have had to marry her because of the damage he had done to her reputation. And Caroline couldn't forgive her for it, even though she didn't know what, exactly, she had done that was so wrong. After all, it wasn't her fault if Darcy didn't like Caroline.

And it wasn't just Caroline that Lizzie felt she needed to get away from. Her sister and Bing gave her knowing looks. Jane was constantly smiling at her and pointing out Darcy's finer qualities and Bing teased her for "protesting too much". Charlotte wasn't any better, either, so Lizzie didn't have a refuge anywhere.

And her audience? Even her videos were against her. Her only hope had been Darcy as he had been suffering through most of the same treatment as she had, except with Caroline, she knew, who had seemed to have forgiven him for being tempted by the local tarts. But he was silent. For the past day and a half he had avoided her, and she didn't want to think on why it bothered her. She had accepted it bothering her, knowing that it was easier than trying to deny it. She didn't care that it bothered her anymore. After all, it didn't _mean _anything. And just like she didn't want to focus on the whys, she also didn't want to focus on the whats. Like what was or was not going on between them. In that moment of pacing her room, she just wanted it to go away. And she wanted Darcy to cut it out with the Katy Perry treatment. One moment they were getting along and the next he didn't want anything to do with her.

It was too much. It was like mentioning George Wickham to him all over again... she paused, looked at her phone and swore. Two days ago was when his mood changed again. George Wickham. She should have known. Damn that Caroline.

… Two Days Earlier ...

Lizzie was still overwhelmed by how she had spent the previous evening. She had fallen asleep beside the man that she had at one time pictured smothering to death with his own scarf. She didn't like that. She didn't sleep easily as a rule. At least not with other people. That she had actually slept, and soundly enough to not be woken up by the previous four calls that she had missed over the course of the night, meant more to her than she was willing to admit.

So instead, she filmed another video, still in the clothes she had worn out. It was only after sending the footage to Charlotte that she finally allowed herself a moment to unwind. That evening she and the others were gathered in the lounge, awkwardly spending the night in. After the third unanswered text from Charlotte, having heard about the previous evening only via the video footage Lizzie had sent, Lizzie had enough. And then her phone began to ring.

Excusing herself from where she sat with Bing and Jane playing cards, she answered, assuming without checking that it had been Charlotte changing tactics to get ahold of her, "What?"

"What's eating you?" Lydia asked.

Lizzie relaxed, flopping into the chair furthest away from everyone, "Sorry. What's up Lydia? How's Mary's?"

"Fine, but that's not why I'm calling you."

"Then why are you calling? Is the house done?" She asked, feeling hope for the first time that evening.

"What? No, you loser. Mom said it was going to be another week. I'm calling to find out when you last checked your twitter account."

Twitter? How was she related to Lydia, she sometimes couldn\t figure out. Maybe the milkman? "I haven't..."

"I so don't get your priorities. You have a mega hottie following you!"

"Wait, you check who follows me on twitter?"

"Not the point, sis. Just check it out. Maybe you could finally get laid."

"Goodbye Lydia!"

Exhaling loudly, she tossed her phone on the couch near where Caroline was reading and Darcy was working on his computer before sitting at the table again.

"What did Lydia want?" Jane asked her.

"I don't know. Something about twitter and somebody following me."

"She checks when someone follows you? That's so sweet."

"She only cares if they're good looking and male, Jane. She's only a bad afro and a coke addiction away from trying to be my pimp."

"Okay, that's less sweet."

"He is hot," Caroline put in, looking at Lizzie's twitter page on her own phone. "Assuming she means George Wickham." She paused, looking over her phone to where Lizzie sat, "Didn't you talk about him in your little videos?"

"Yeah, he came through town a while ago."

"Has he still been texting you?" Jane asked. Lizzie nodded, noticing with a frown that Darcy's jaw was tight and his eyes were focused on his laptop as though it was the only thing keeping him alive. "Aw, he's still thinking about you."

"What's the matter, Darce," Bing teased, noticing his friend's reaction to the conversation, "Don't like competition?"

The taller man rolled his eyes, assured his friend that he didn't know what he was talking about and left, claiming to need quiet to focus on his work. The look that he gave Lizzie when he met her eye on the way out the door was the last exchange that they had. It was still a look that she was trying to figure out.

Now, in her room two days later, going over that conversation again, as well as Darcy's avoidance the previous time that George Wickham had been mentioned, she was curious. Were Bing and her sister right? Was Darcy merely jealous? Or was it something more?

She would be the last to claim that she was an expert on his moods and expressions, but there was something in his reaction to that name that made her think that it was something deeper than jealousy at work. A history maybe?

Letting her curiosity get the best of her, she picked up her phone, searched the contacts and with only a moment of hesitation, hit send.

"Hey Peach," George greeted her after the third ring, "This is a pleasant surprise, I was starting to think you were avoiding me."

His voice was smooth, with equal parts sex, humour and calm. And she found herself not only smiling, but glad to hear from him after how the last few days have gone.

"Well you know me, busy, busy, busy."

"Internet fame tends to do that."

She paused. "You know about..."

His voice smiled, "About your current adventures in Darcy-land? Yeah, I do."

Her breathing stilled. She had been right. "So you do know Darcy, then?"

"Yeah, and I have to say, Peach, I find you captured him perfectly. At least at first."

She stilled. It was true, since he had found out about her videos she had been less severe in her portrayal of Darcy. She tried to convince herself that it was because of the influence of censorship on her storytelling, but when she stopped lying to herself, she wasn't so sure. Talking to George, now, she hoped for the information to figure out who Darcy really was once and for all.

"How do you know him?"

"We grew up together..."

She blinked, not knowing what else to do besides breath. She had not been expecting that. It didn't take much prodding on her part to find out everything. His father had worked for William Darcy senior and they were good friends. So much so that their families spent every free moment together. Senior even helped sponsor George at private school. When his father had died, Senior, George's godfather, took him under his wing, had given him all the things that his friend had wanted for his son, and indeed some things that the elder Wickham didn't think he would ever be able to provide.

"He set up a trust for you?"

"That he did. Old man Darcy was the kindest, best man I ever knew. He even helped me to get accepted to Oxford. It was where he wanted Junior to go, but Darcy had decided on Harvard. I think he was jealous of me, of the fact that his father seemed to prefer me over him. He died just after I got accepted. When I asked Darcy for what was rightfully mine, he said no. And I was left with no chance to go. I couldn't afford it without that trust."

"But it was his father's wishes. Surely Darcy wouldn't have gone against them."

"Lizzie, here is the thing that you need to understand about Darcy. He likes to be in control. His friends that let him run their lives, he is good to. Anyone else, anyone who tries to do what they want on their own terms, or to defy what he thinks right... he'll snap. He'll turn his back on you as soon as look at you. He did it to me, he's probably done it to others..."

"His sister." She said quickly, not believing her ears, "He told me that he broke up her first love."

"He told you about that?"

Something in his voice that gave her pause. There was an edge to it that hadn't been there before. "Wait, that was you? You and his sister?"

There was something like panic in what he said next. She thought it was heartbreak. "What did he tell you about that?"

"Not much. Just that she was angry that he interfered and she wasn't talking to him. That was you? Did you love her?"

"I knew her all her life. She was a special kid. And as a woman she was... let's just say that there are few people in the world who are quite like Gigi Darcy."

"How can you be so calm? So resigned to this? To what he did to you?"

"You have to move on, Peach. I just hope that you stay on your guard around him. I don't want to see you get hurt the same way he hurt me. I have to go. Take care. I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah, bye, and thanks."

~*~LBD~*~

She didn't know what to think. Her mind raced with facts from both sides of the story. She wanted to sit down at her camera and tell the world what she had learned. But she didn't. She couldn't. Not yet. Not until she had heard both sides. She owed it to him.

Her limbs were quivering as she made her way to his room. She knew that was where he'd be. That was the only place he could go now to be as free of Lizzie as the others in the house. Only Bing would dare come into his room.

She knocked, loudly. The pounding of her fists on the wooden door matched the pounding of her heartbeat against her chest that echoed at her temples. If he didn't answer, she was going to barge in. Not that that would help anything, she knew. But desperate times called for desperate measures. And nothing was as desperate to Lizzie as being denied her peace of mind.

He opened his door, surprised to see her; and more surprised to see her there upset. He had spent as much time the past few days thinking about her as he had thinking about work to the point where one was distracting him from the other. And at the root of his thoughts where she was concerned, was Wickham. He had noticed her mention him in her videos, but tried not to think too much of it. He was gone now, there wasn't anything he could do to her once he had left town.

But then he had texted her, continued to talk to her. He sought her out on twitter. And if he had found her twitter perhaps he had also found her videos? And if he had found those then he would know that Darcy was in her life. Would he try to use that to his advantage? Would he try to hurt her as he had others before her? No one knew better than Darcy did what George Wickham was capable of.

"Come in," he told her, hoping from her expression that it wasn't already too late.

"You know George Wickham." She began sharply, an accusation in it's own right.

He crossed his arms, feeling defensive. He didn't understand why she was angry. Did she think he should have warned her? Did she want him to have protected her? "I did. Once."

She nodded. "Yes, he told me. He told me what you did to him."

Did to him? His back straightened, not able to believe that she had listened to whatever lie that George had fed her. At one time he could have believed that she didn't understand him well enough, but since then... "What exactly am I accused of doing to him?"

She told him. She spat the insults of his treachery back at him. He took it with more calm than she would have expected until she mentioned his sister.

"He said what about Gigi?"

She paused, surprised at the anger that he barely restrained. If George were in the room, she could see Darcy wanting to strangle him. He could probably finish what he started too by the looks of him.

"That you didn't want to see them happy. You broke them up because she went against your wishes."

"And you believed him?"

She was taken aback by his question. The angry tirade that she had planned had lost it's steam. She looked away from him. "I don't know what to believe. That's why I came here."

"You seemed to have already made up your mind about what happened."

"If I had, I wouldn't have come here and told you what he said. I would have taken it to the people."

He nodded, considering his words for a long moment before continuing, "And why didn't you?"

"I wanted to hear your side. I wanted to know if you really did those things that he accused you of."

"Is it so easy to believe me to be that cruel without provocation? To think so little of my fathers wishes, and my own sister's happiness to cause her pain with no real cause?"

"You dislike him."

"No, I_ hate_ him. And he is lucky all I did was tear him away from Gigi."

"But why did you?"

He moved past her, back to the door. He had thought that he was getting through to her. He thought she was gaining an understanding of him. He must have thought wrong. "Because of that universal truth that kept you from Yale."

"Money?"

He nodded, opening the door, "I think you should go..."

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: My friend that looked this story over before posting it called me a dick for cutting this off here. Which is probably why I did it. Sorry.


	7. Going Home

Disclaimer: blah blah not mine blah blah stop rubbing it in! Blah blah jerks.

Author's Note: A big huge thank you for all the reviews and follows and favourites, yes, even the reviews saying that my friend was right and I'm a dick for the cliff hanger last time. Hopefully this will make it better?

I had originally intented for this fic to be 10 parts, but for anyone who read my last multi-part fic can tell you... stories have a tendency of getting away from me. Currently, I'm working on part 13. And no, I'm not going to post them all at once. Again, I'm a dick. Sorry.

Again, thank you for your kind and supportive reviews. They keep me editing and writing and posting on a daily basis...and also keep me anxious and having dreams where people hunt me down if I don't get the characters right. So thank you, you guys keep me going and keep me wanting to do things well.

The Netherfield Effect.

7. Going Home.

She had to get out of that house so much so that she didn't care that she didn't have anyplace to go home to. She would go anywhere: to Mary's or Charlotte's. Hell she would sleep in her car if it meant being away from that place - being away from that man.

Money. That was the reason he gave for breaking Wickham and Gigi up. George Wickham, a man who had grown up with Darcy, who was practically a brother to him was cast aside because he didn't have fortune enough to consort with someone of the name Darcy.

If that was really how Darcy felt, then what the hell was he doing with her? Was it a game? Was he slumming it? Lizzie no longer knew. She no longer wanted to know. She just wanted to be far, far away.

She tossed her bags on the bed and started stuffing things inside.

"Lizzie?" Jane's worried voice called from the doorway, coming closer when she noticed her sister's distress, "What's wrong?"

"I have to leave."

"What happened?"

"Darcy..."

"Did you two have a fight?" When Lizzie didn't answer, Jane moved forward and put her arms around her little sister, stopping her before she could pack more things. "Tell me what's wrong. Lizzie, you're shaking."

"I thought I was beginning to understand him. I thought I had been wrong about him. I was wanting to have been wrong about him." She paused, realizing that she was close to tears. Crying over Darcy? A month ago she never would have dreamed that possible. "But I don't think I was."

"Come and sit. Maybe we can talk about this."

"No. Not while under the same roof as him."

"Lizzie..."

She broke free from her sister, trying to make Jane understand that things weren't as simple as she thought they were. "He cares about money, Jane. He cares that we don't have it. And if you're not careful he'll make Bing care about that too."

Jane's frown deepened, not having seen her sister this upset over a man before. "Lizzie. Do you... you really do care about him."

She paused, her hands buried in the mountain of clothes she had tossed into her suitcase. Jane had asked the question of the moment. The question that she had fought herself not to answer. Did she really care about him? Could she have fallen for him as Jane did Bing? It didn't matter, she reminded herself, closing the lid. She was saved from answering just in time. At least she could thank Darcy for that.

She swallowed the growing lump as she zipped up her suitcase. "No. It would be stupid of me to have."

"No. It's never stupid to care about someone. Now, are you sure you two can't work this out?"

"There's nothing to work out. We're from two, very different worlds. After leaving here, I doubt I'll ever have to see him again."

Jane knew her sister better than that. She knew that there was a lot that she wasn't saying. But she also knew that Lizzie needed to do things in her own time. And so she merely nodded, grasped her sister's hand tightly in her own and made a phone call.

~*~LBD~*~

The hotel room was small, and no where near as well decorated or ornate as Netherfield. And for that, Lizzie thought there was no place better for her to spend the night although she felt guilty for Jane coming along with her. She had told her that she would be okay, Charlotte would be there. But Jane wouldn't hear of it. There was no way she would let her sister be alone when she might be able to do something to help ease her pain.

"We still need to do a video for tomorrow," Charlotte reminded her when the three were settled in for the evening.

Lizzie nodded, "I know. And I think I know exactly what I'm going to say."

Charlotte met Jane's eye, "Why do I suspect more Darcy bashing in our future?"

Lizzie would have liked to say that she was being fair in her retelling of the events of the day. She would have also liked to have said that she wasn't as upset as she appeared on film. But she wasn't fair and she was upset and she knew that Charlotte might have been able to use at most three minutes of the thirty they had filmed while Jane had stepped out, claiming to have an errand to run.

She returned to find Lizzie leaning against the bed, drinking down a beer quicker than she normally would, Charlotte on the other side of the room, headphones on, pouring over the footage, her expression almost painful. She met Jane's eye and told her with a frown that they might need to film a disclaimer to put at the beginning of this video.

Jane sat beside Lizzie, taking the fresh beer the younger woman had opened from her grasp, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"What happened between you and Darcy."

"No... it's just, I slept with him, Jane. I know that nothing happened. We were just looking at the stars, but I slept that night. I slept beside him. You know how big that is."

"I do." She assured her, smoothing her hair, "Is that why you're upset?"

"I don't want to talk about it. But I have to say that men shouldn't be so much work."

Jane smiled, "I know, sweety."

Lizzie was silent a long moment, taking the beer back into her possession. "I wanted to be wrong about him. But I wasn't. He's a prick. All men are pricks." She took a long drink.

"I'm sure they are, sweety." She looked to Charlotte, "How many has she had?"

The dark-haired woman shrugged. "I don't know. She's been hiding her empties. I found one in the toilet. What did you find out?"

"According to the contractor, we can move back into the house tomorrow. Mom already knows and I told her Lizzie isn't feeling well so we'll be heading back as soon as we can."

"And she accepted that?"

"More-or-less." Her phone started to ring. It was Bing. "Hey," she answered, taking it in the bathroom. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, but I miss you," he confessed. "I kind of got used to having you and Lizzie here. What happened? Caroline said that your place was ready but when I went by there the crew said you weren't moving back in until tomorrow and Darcy's in a mood..."

"I'm sure all will be explained in Lizzie's next video. You might want to warn Darcy about that. I'm not sure what she filmed, but with how mad she was and how much she's drank since then and how long it's taking Charlotte to edit it... I think it's safe to say that he might not want to see it right away." There was a crash from the bedroom. "I have to go."

"Okay, call me if you need anything. And Jane?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She smiled. He had never said that to her before. "I love you too."

~*~LBD~*~

Bing paused outside of Darcy's room before knocking. He entered when he heard the terse permission given. Darcy was standing at the window, body tense and still. Bing hadn't seen him that wound up since his first day as Pemerberley's CEO. He knew that whatever was going on right now was bigger than either he or Lizzie was saying.

"How are you doing, Man?"

Darcy didn't turn. "I take it that you have heard."

"Not really. That's why I'm here. To talk."

His shoulders slumped. "I don't wish to talk about it."

Bing nodded, "You sound like Lizzie. She won't tell Jane what's wrong either." The younger man studied his friend closely when he mentioned the woman's name. "They left, you know."

Darcy sighed, "I am aware."

"Must have been some fight."

"Bing..." Darcy warned.

"And I like to think that I know you. And I know that you don't fight about things unless you really care about them."

"Bing, don't try to be clever about this. She is gone, and it is over. I'm leaving town and she will never have to see me again."

"Isn't that a little drastic?" He asked with a laugh, "Considering that you're my best friend and I'm dating her sister. At some point you're going to have to be around her again."

At this, Darcy turned, eyebrow lifted, "Then you're serious about Jane?"

"I'm in love with her."

"Well, that is serious."

Bing waited for the argument that didn't come. "What? That's it? No warning about her family, about her situation, about her being genuine?"

"Right now I feel that I'm the last person who should be giving lectures about the merits and follies of whom one finds themselves falling in love with. I only hope that you are more successful than some in gaining a happy ending."

Bing nodded, moving to the door. He paused, remembering Jane's words. "Oh, Jane told me to warn you about Lizzie's next video. She's really upset with what happened today. Jane didn't want you to watch it unprepared."

Darcy found it hard to breath for a moment after Bing left. Lizzie made a video in the heat of the moment, while she was angry at him. He could only imagine the depths to which she abused him... but if she mentioned his sister...

He took out his phone, and dialed the number that he knew off by heart but hadn't had a reason to call in months. He had recited the digits as he fell asleep. He had wanted to talk to her to much as of late. He wanted to make everything right again. Gigi. His little sister. Lizzie's words that night in the kitchen had given him hope that they might yet find their way back together again after so long being apart. He just had to give her time. But if Lizzie was going to share with the world what he feared she would, he could no longer afford to be patient.

"Hello William," the uncertain voice of his sister came through on the other end. He had never heard her so awkward and shy around him since their parents were buried. At least the anger was out of her address, for that moment at least.

"Gigi, I'm sorry for calling you so suddenly, but something important has come up that I needed to warn you about..." he took the next five minutes telling her about his time with Bing and Lizzie and her videos. A further five to explain to her why he wasn't upset about how she was portraying him and then to talk her down from excitement over him liking this new woman in his life. Then he got to the point of the call. George Wickham. He paused and had made multiple false starts in telling her the lies the other man had told Lizzie about him, and about Gigi.

"I'm telling you this, but not because I wanted to hurt you. Lizzie is upset about what happened and I don't know what she is going to say on her videos. While I don't think she'll say anything about you, I didn't want you to be caught unawares if I am truly wrong about her."

Gigi was silent a long moment. "William, what're they called?"

"What?"

"Her videos. I want to watch them." He tried to protest. "No. You're telling me that some stranger has insulted you for months, and might be airing my personal laundry in less than 10 hours. I want to see who this girl is so I can understand why you aren't more angry or hurt about what's going on. You don't accept people talking bad about you."

He smirked and told her, glad that there was someone in his life that really did understand him the way he had hoped Lizzie would. She kept him on the phone as she brought up the first video. "Wow, she's pretty."

Darcy sucked in a deep breath, "She is at that."

"I'll call you back when I'm finished."

He was waiting impatiently by the phone for her return call. He picked it up on the first ring, both ends of the call silent for a long moment until finally... "You really like her."

Darcy sighed, "Gigi."

"No, I get it. She's a little like mom - she has spirit and life. She must have done quite a number on you for you to have made that bad of an impression on her."

He found himself smiling. It felt good to be talking to her again like they used to. "You have no idea."

"So what are you going to do?" He was silent. "You're not planning on running away, are you?"

"I wouldn't call coming home, running away."

She made a clucking sound that was a fair impression on a chicken. "This isn't you. I haven't seen you give up on something you want ever. So why..."

"Because she doesn't want me."

"Are you sure? Because I don't know, she seems pretty into you at the end there. And if she got mad enough to leave the house rather than see you over a fight... I'd say it was more than just anger going on. Will you promise me you'll at least stay until the next video comes out?"

"You're going to watch it, aren't you?"

"Of course. If she says anything about me, I'll need to know right away so I can contact the lawyers."

"All you'll get out of her is her second born."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just, let me handle this, please?"

"Only if you promise to actually handle it. I'll call you after the video. And William, I'm sorry."

He smiled, feeling relaxed, "Me too."

~*~LBD~*~

It was 9am and more than one person was sitting in front of their computer waiting for Lizzie's video to upload while the woman herself lay on the hotel bed, feeling the effects of too many beers the night before.

Darcy had just gotten off the phone with Gigi, assuring her that he was going to watch the video when Bing came into his room, wanting to be there for his friend incase it really was as bad as Jane told him it might be.

They sat in silence as the alert came up. The new video was posted.

Whatever Darcy had been expecting this wasn't it.

It was Jane and Charlotte sitting in front of the camera, the lights in the hotel room low.

"So today we're doing something different," Charlotte was saying. "I'm back and that means that Lizzie is no longer at Netherfield."

Jane smiled apologetically, "Something happened while there and well, that's why we're here."

"When Lizzie filmed this video she wasn't in the best frame of mind."

"She and Darcy had a fight," Jane put in. "A really big fight."

"And because we're trying to be fair, I wanted to let you all know that what follows happened in the aftermath of that argument. The views that will be expressed are those felt in the heat of the moment and not entirely reflects the actual views that Lizzie feels while in her right mind. So with that, I'm Charlotte Lu."

"I'm Jane Bennet..."

"...And Lizzie was really pissed off."

After the title sequence Lizzie was on screen, her face was flushed and eyes red from unshed tears and frustration. She looked rattled. She looked more upset than Darcy had ever seen her before. And that surprised him. He knew she was mad, but upset? He was confused but also drawn more into the video.

He lost track of the descriptors she spewed at him when Charlotte cautioned her from off camera not to use language that they'd have to edit out. His temper rose when she accused him of controlling the lives of his friends like a puppet master. He found it amusing when she told him she wasn't going to play his games any more. He was surprised when she said that money was more important to him than loving someone. Then his heart ached when her voice broke a little as she talked about her own financial situation, how she refused to have him think he was better than she was just because she had to struggle in life. It gave her character - something she now felt him lacking. And finally his heart swelled at the end of the video when he realized that she didn't mention Gigi or George at all.

She had kept her word. She didn't tell. It wasn't about anyone else. The video was about them. Him and her - and how much one had hurt the other.

He wasn't sure when Bing left, only that when his phone next rang, he was alone.

"William," Gigi told him as soon as he picked up, "You have to do something."

"Yes, I know." He assured her, swallowing the dryness that had overtaken his throat, "Don't worry, I'm on it."

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: Okay, so another cliff hanger, but at least this one isn't quite as bad?


	8. Hope in Letters

Disclaimer: Now you're just rubbing it in.

Author's Note: I really don't know what to say, only that I'm excited about where this story is taking me and hopefully you'll feel the same.

Please continue favouriting and following and reviewing. Keep them coming!

The Netherfield Effect.

8. Hope in Letters

Darcy had two options ahead of him and neither were particularly pleasant. Both resulted in him putting himself out there in a way that he wasn't really comfortable doing. But, if he thought about it, she had done the same for him in her last video. Even if she hadn't been aware of it at the time and would later blame Charlotte for making it seem that way.

He would be the first to admit that he had been wrong about her when they first met. He didn't really know her or understand her at all as he had first thought he did. He had been completely mistaken. But the thing about William Darcy was that once he realized his mistake he was determined to fix it. After watching Lizzie's videos, he thought he had. He thought he was beginning to understand her. He thought that he was getting to know who she was as a person, not just who she showed the world she should be. And he had been justified in his beliefs of her in this last video. She really was all that he had built her up to be.

She kept his confidences even as she spewed insults at him. She kept him on his toes. She made him want to do right... and seeing how upset she was, how her body trembled while talking about how he looked down upon her situation and lack of fortune, he would do anything to never see her hurt like that again.

But his faith in his own abilities to make this better was lacking. He had never been one to find it easy to put his thoughts into words. And while, with Lizzie he had found himself making steps towards improvement in that area, if their last conversation was any indication, he still had a long way left to go. The last thing he wanted right now was to risk more miscommunication, not when the price was so high.

So, he could either risk going to her house and try to talk to her in person, knowing that she was most likely still angry and more than willing to push him the way he pushed her until they were fighting again and nothing was being said; or he could pour his thoughts and hopes and fears and truths down upon paper and hope that she read it. Hope that whatever had been forming between them was enough to make her want read what he had to say.

He had to hope she would. He still had faith that he was right about her. His heart wouldn't allow him to think he had been wrong. She had been upset. Not about George - not in that video, anyway. She had been upset about Darcy. Upset about them. That meant that she felt something too, right? That meant that, this time, he wasn't falling alone, right?

He could only hope. And so he did the only thing he had been good at when it came to expressing himself. He put words on paper. He worked all of the morning, using the fountain pen that had once been his father's and his father before him. When he was finished, he knew that this was the option that was best.

He just had to get it to her and then hope that she read it, and hope that she understood. In the long run, he knew that hope was easy. But looking at the letter, and what was at risk, he found that hope (when all one really has) was also very, very hard.

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie woke up at noon, with a headache, a feeling of regret and the want to throw up. She also had more than one missed text on her phone. It didn't take long for her to remember why. Her video. It has been posted.

She sat up quickly, instantly regretting it as the room spun and her head felt like it was spinning along with it.

Charlotte nudged Jane who was packing, "Good morning sleeping beauty, ready to go home?"

"Home?" She croaked. "No... Die."

Jane sat beside her sister on the bed, frowning as she smoothed her hair from her face, "Are you okay? You look worse than Lydia after going to Carter's."

"Video..."

"Filmed, edited and posted on time. Don't worry." Charlotte assured her.

She didn't feel assured at all, but worlds more awake. "What? No, no, no, no... bad. Bad idea. Take it down."

Jane gave her sister what she hoped was a comforting look, "It's okay, Lizzie. Charlotte and I added a disclaimer and she did a good job not putting anything new online."

"So nothing about Darcy..."

"Giving cupid an enema of his own blood and wings? No... I thought it best to leave that part out."

Lizzie flopped back on the bed. "Good."

Jane and Charlotte exchanged worried looks, before Jane took a deep breath, "Lizzie, is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No. I just want to shower. And sleep. And cut off my head."

"Well then come on, let's get you home."

~*~LBD~*~

There was a text from George. Not only did he watch her last video, but he approved of it tremendously. He also went on to tell her that as soon as he was back in town, he was going to take her out on the town.

She didn't answer. She couldn't. Not yet. Not while she still felt sick from the events of the prior day and from the eight beers she seemingly guzzled the night before. How her sister managed to consume the levels of alcohol that she did, Lizzie would never know. But she now had sympathy for how she felt the day after.

Her parents and Lydia returned home at suppertime. It was too soon for Lizzie who was still not feeling well. And it didn't help when her little sister barged into her room as soon as she had returned home and jumped on her bed, going on about the video she had seen and the twitter comment that Wickham had posted calling Lizzie a saint for having put up with Darcy as long as she had.

"Come on, we're going to Carter's to celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?"

"Your getting laid when Mr. Man-cake comes back to town, of course. Come on! Nothing cures a hangover like more alcohol."

"Is there anything I can say that will make you go away?"

"Only yes."

"Why weren't you adopted?" She sighed. "Give me an hour."

~*~LBD~*~

Darcy had lost track of how long he had been sitting outside of her house, but it was starting to get dark. From the lights in the windows he knew that the entire family was there. He watched as Charlotte went inside not too long before hand. He knew that he soon had to make his move. He couldn't wait forever. He had debated leaving it in her mailbox, but knew that if he wanted her to actually read it, he would have to hand deliver it.

He saw his chance when the door opened and Lydia almost bounded outside, full of excited energy; Jane followed next, laughing as she chided her baby sister; with Charlotte coming close behind rolling her eyes at Lizzie, who was the last to follow, lamenting about something he couldn't hear. He stilled when he saw her. Based on how they were dressed, he guessed they were heading to Carters. But from the look on Lizzie's face he had a feeling that she did not want to be going along.

She was still upset.

Steeling himself, he got out of his car, the four women stilling as soon as they saw him cross the street. Lydia, with arms crossed, stood between him and her sister. For all he could say against the young woman, he had to give her credit - she took care of her own.

"What do you want?"

He shifted, "I wish to speak to your sister for a moment."

"So, go ahead. Talk."

"Lydia," Jane chastised.

"In private."

They turned to look at Lizzie who was, for her part, unsure what he was even doing there. Hadn't he said enough? Apparently not. She nodded to the others, "I'll meet you in the car."

"You sure?" Charlotte asked her, her eyes going from him to her. She wasn't blind. She knew how much Darcy had come to take over her friend's thoughts since he came to town. Even when it was disguised as hatred, there was something there that Lizzie didn't seem ready to admit to. And while she knew the redhead was getting closer, she still wasn't ready, and until then, Charlotte didn't want to see her hurt.

Lizzie nodded. "Yeah, I'll only be a minute. Go, Lydia," she added when her little sister made no move to leave.

"Fine," she narrowed her eyes at Darcy, "But I'm watching you."

"Sorry about her," Lizzie said when it was just them. She didn't know how to act around him now. It was as though all the ground they had gained the previous month had all slipped away. With interest.

"No, it's alright. She cares about you."

She nodded, waiting for him to tell her what he wanted. When he made no sign of starting, she was all too reminded of their first meeting. A week ago she would have thought he was nervous. She might have been moved to think that he might actually like her. Now all she was aware of was his final words to her ringing in his mind. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I saw your last video," he explained, his attention flickering between her and the envelop in his hand. "I think during our last conversation things were said that should not have been. And also things that weren't said that should have. Please, do me the favour of reading this letter. It will hopefully explain things better than what I could put into words."

"Okay," she said, brow furrowed, taking it from him.

"I'm leaving town," he said next, shifting from foot to foot, hands shoved into his pockets. "Business. But, I hope to be back for Bing's birthday. I would like to see you there." He glanced to where her family was waiting, "Lizzie... thank you."

Her eyes met his quickly, not sure what he could possibly have reason to thank her for. "What?"

"For not bringing my sister into your videos. She is grateful."

"You told her?"

"After Bing warned me of what might have been in your video, I thought it prudent to also warn her. I am glad that warning was not needed. She has watched all your videos since then and thinks highly of you."

She laughed, not believing the possibility, "Sure she does."

"Read the letter. You'll understand. Goodbye Lizzie, take care and I'm sorry that things are as they are."

"Me too," she told him, and meant it. She watched him get into his car and drive away. She glanced at the letter. It felt heavy, with the weight of their entire relationship upon it. It was too much to deal with right then, with family waiting and her head pounding and her chest hurting. So instead of opening it, she put it in her purse instead, intent on joining her support group and forgetting that she had a reason to drink in the first place.

~*~TBC~*~


	9. Waiting

Disclaimer: I know that you know that I know that I don't own anything worth having.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews, please keep them coming. They help me through the writing slumps I've been feeling the past couple days.

For everyone who have already left awesome reviews, this not-so-cliffhangery chapter is for you.

The Netherfield Effect.

9. Waiting.

Bing's birthday was six weeks after Lizzie and Jane returned home from Netherfield and already the plans for the event were in full swing. In addition to the party plans that Jane was always mentioning, life itself was getting away from Lizzie: almost as soon as they returned home Ricky came back into town. Without those at Netherfield unoccupied enough to distract her, Lizzie was forced to put up with the man as her mother was insistant on having him around; and then there was the fallout when Charlotte took the job that had been first offered to Lizzie. The best friends were going to be farther away from one another than either of them had been before. That they were fighting didn't ease Lizzie's tension at how things in her life currently stood.

But there did seem to be one silver lining in the chaos that was her the first month home: George Wickham. After weeks of texting and keeping in touch through conversations with Ricky and her mother's needling and missing Charlotte, he was finally back in town. And she was glad. After the company of men like Darcy and Ricky, here was a man who showed genuine interest in her and who didn't play games, and never went hot and then suddenly cold on her, and who was more-or-less from the same kind of world that she had grown up in. He ate meat on a stick and played video games and knew all the words to bad 90's songs. In short - he was everything she had never known to appreciate in a man before.

The night after his return to town, he took her out as he had promised. A casual date: a walk, and a light meal. They joked and talked about nothing of importance, showing shallow reflections of what they believed the other thought they were. And neither of them dared to broach the topic that had united them - Darcy, although she was sure that he was as much on George's mind as he was on hers.

It had been a month since he had left town (well four weeks and two days but who was counting) and she had tried not to think of him. With so much going on and falling apart around her, it should have been easy. But with so much in her life tied to him... at times she felt like he was the thing that started it all – started her down the road of doubt and loss and second guesses that reminded her of those day time soap operas that her mother used watch.

She spent much of her free time now that Charlotte wasn't talking to her and packing up to leave, with Jane and Bing - and Caroline - planning what her mother said was going to be the party of the decade. And every time they met, Caroline thought it prudent to mention their absent friend. According to Caroline, she and Darcy were in constant contact since he went away. And the distance, she claimed, was helping him to realign his priorities.

Maybe Caroline was what finally pushed Lizzie into accepting George's offer, despite Lizzie not having been sure that it was the best idea. Although she wasn't sure how going out with someone Caroline didn't care about was really proving a point to anyone. Maybe it was just the excuse she was looking for?

But Lydia was proud of her. She had said, after all, that if Lizzie didn't go after George Wickham, she would have.

~*~LBD~*~

"I'm glad you decided to come out," George told her, getting back into his car after the movie. It had been a last minute plan, and she had readily agreed. Of course, she probably would have agreed to anything to have an evening away from party planning.

"Me too. It was fun."

"Was? You think the night is over?"

She laughed, "What else do you have planned?"

He shrugged, looking her over, eyebrow raised. "We could always go to look out point."

She forgot how to breath for a moment, remembering the last time she had been taken there. She tried to laugh. "You know what, I think I'll have to pass on that one. It's kind of high school."

"So I guess running off to Vegas is also out.'

"Yeah, I think it is for tonight."

"Some other time then."

She nodded and he smiled. The first time he had smiled at her she had felt it in her toes - warm and special. Now there was a nagging feeling that came with it. A feeling that something just wasn't right. It was a feeling that after this second date, she still couldn't place.

"Why don't we call it a night?" She asked after a stretched out moment of silence, no longer feeling social.

An eyebrow rose, "Are you propositioning me, Miss Bennet? I'll have you know, I never put out until the third date. I am, after all, a gentleman. But, I can pencil you in for tomorrow."

"Just drop me off at my door, Monsieur gentleman." She laughed, falling into easy conversation with him again. Despite everything else, she would give him credit, being with him was simple. It was nice, being with someone that didn't make you angry like Ricky did, or self-conscious and confused the way... Well, things with George were just easy. Things often were, she realized, when there was nothing at stake.

He walked her to the front door, and gave her a light kiss goodnight. She stopped him from walking away, pulling him in for another, less innocent, kiss. There was something she needed to find out.

George winked at her when he stepped back, "I will see you later, Peach. We'll have to talk about that third date."

She couldn't help her frown as she watched him leave, her fingers tracing patterns over her lips. That wasn't what she had been expecting at all, nor was she as surprised as she thought she should have been. And, as she made her way to her room, she wasn't sure if she should have been more disappointed that it wasn't.

~*~ LBD ~*~

In her room, shutting the door tightly behind her less Lydia demand to know why she was home so early, she flopped down on her bed. She was suddenly very tired, which didn't help as there was much that she had to think about. George Wickham, it seemed, had lost some his charm since their first meeting. Was it really a change in him, or her? After all, she had met him during a time when gentlemen in her life was scarce, and he was alone among 25 ass holes. And Darcy, she added almost unwillingly, knowing that that was also at a time when she didn't really understand him either.

And it was true that she still preferred George to Ricky, and that he was fun to waste time with but... Since they met she had gotten to know Bing who was definitely in a class beyond Wickham, and then there was also Darcy who, despite her fighting him every step of the way, had left her wanting more of a life she knew she couldn't have.

Groaning, she stretched out, pushing off the contents that had been in her purse before going out that night. Being last minute plans, she had been running late, and she hardly ever used the small purse that she saved for nights out. So, when the doorbell rang and her mother yelled that there was a "nice, handsome, verile looking young man at the door" dumping out the contents of said purse seemed the quicker and less embarrassing option to actually cleaning it out.

Now going through the jumble of items that had built up over the weeks of using it as storage for her other handbags would have to wait until the next day, when she could actually care what was kept and tossed away. Thus decided, she started pushing old receipts and hair elastics and that lip balm she had accused Lydia of taking onto the floor. She paused as an envelop grazed against her fingers.

Suddenly she remembered. Darcy. How had she forgotten about the letter that had seemed all important at the time when he put it in her hand? Oh right, she had gotten drunk and had to help deal with Lydia who had managed to get even drunker. Then there was Ricky, then George, then Charlotte, her mother, and the ever present Bing and Caroline and their party, and trying not to think of Darcy.

Steeling herself for whatever she might find, she twirled the envelop between her fingers, studying it. Like the man who wrote it, it confused her. The paper was fine, expensive most likely, probably the finest that Caroline could buy with her brother's money. But she could tell that the pen he had used was old – a fountain pen? - based upon the font and the blot when he had written her name in an elegant scrawl. Of course he would use cursive, no one else she knew did.

Only the CEO of a media company specializing in the latest technological trends in communication would prefer a handwritten letter using an archaic pen and outdated font. Even still, it made her smile as she opened it. The smile, however, was quick to fade as she began to read.

"Dear Lizzie,

My entire life I had been led to believe that I knew myself. Twenty-nine years, I feel, is a long time to be mistaken, especially since I now know, since meeting you, that I have to re-evaluate how I, and others, see me. Before your coming into my life, I was unaware of how much was lacking in my abilities to communicate and connect effectively with those not already known to me. While I have since worked on improving my skills in these areas, I will confess that I have a long way yet to go.

When I first came into your town it was on the heels of my dealings with my sister's heartache. As I had told you, she and I had never fought, and to have her cutting me out of her life as she had, played a role in my unsocial behaviour upon my arrival. I know that there is no excuse I can offer for my apparent knack for miscommunication. As there is no excuse I would insult both of us in offering, I will give you instead, an explanation of my history and dealings with George Wickham in hopes that you will comprehend my feeling and actions towards him.

George's father was a good friend to my own and as such, we spent much time together during vacations and holidays, and were encouraged in our closeness growing up. As George was always closer to home than I was, and as my father had a warm spot in his heart for his friend's son, and due to his generous nature and affection he gave George the best of everything. I don't believe George's father could afford much time, affection or resources for him as his wife was rumoured to have problems that took such attentions.

Looking back, perhaps that is where George learned to be who he turned out to be. To both our fathers, however, he was ever the ideal of what a son should be. While not a scholar, he excelled at sports and my father remarked more than once how he wished that I had some of the same abilities. As a young man, I will own myself to have been envious of his relationship with my father, especially after he lost his own.

To my father and those he wished to impress, he presented a front that was everything good and charitable. To myself, and his peers, however, he was more open, and I often saw the beginnings of what I now know to be his true nature. Should I have tried harder to curb his behaviours when we were young and later whenhe visited me at university? During my first two years at Harvard, as I struggled to become the man I felt my father wished me to be, I had thought George a resource. I still felt him a brother until I began to watch him when he failed to guard himself. I watched how he was with women. It was just another game for him to play. Women were something to chase, to be caught, and then turned aside when he grew wary of them. A peach to be plucked, and discarded once everything good was sucked away and only the pit remained.

More and more during these years he showed himself reckless and prone to doing things to excess – drinking, gambling, fighting... there was more than one occasion where I had to bail him out of jail, or convinced someone not to press charges. All of this, my father didn't know and I could not be the one to tell him. I would never be the one who broke his heart.

I loved my father, Lizzie. He was the best of men. I know others might have gloated over the fall from grace of their father's favourite. But I never could, not when doing so would hurt the man who had given me more than I would ever be able to repay. One of my greatest strengths, I believe, is my want to protect those I love. When thinking on George, I wonder if it was also a weakness.

Until his dying day, my father never knew the true nature of the man he held as close to him as a son. He even used the last of his college contacts to get George into Oxford, the school that he had wished for me to attend – something that we could have shared. I know that he felt disappointment with my decision to go to Harvard, but I felt it important to stay close by. We had just lost my mother. The company needed me close. Gigi needed me and I felt that my father needed me too. Just as I needed to be nearer to them; nearer to home.

I don't know what would have happened if my father had not have died that summer. I don't know who George would have become, as I don't know what would have become of us all, but my father did not live to see Wickham off to Oxford. Instead, it fell to me to give him the funds that my father had set aside for him. I wanted to believe Wickham sincere in his want to go and in him wanting to do justice to my father's memory. I own to you that I had seen enough of him and his nature by that point to know that my wants and hopes were most likely in vain. I had doubts, even as I tried to believe he was not beyond hope, more for my father's sake than his own. I tried to persuade him to allow me to pay the school directly, but he declined. He said that he was old enough and man enough to take care of everything himself.

Foolishly, I allowed it. What my father gave him should have been more than enough to cover four years of studies, expenses and board. It was less than a year later when he returned, asking for more. I refused him, knowing that I had already allowed him to abuse my father's good will. I would not allow him free rein with mine as well. I will spare you the insults and tactics he utilized to get me to change my mind before he left. Had I not been grieving the loss of my father, I might have paid more attention to his departure as it was quick. He did not leave with a threat on his lips, although I now know that there was one there, left unspoken between us.

Perhaps naively, I hoped that he was gone from my life forever. I was even willing to overlook the whispers and rumors of lies that he was said to spread about me wherever he went. I knew that he wished revenge on me, I knew him too well to have ever thought otherwise. However, never would I have dreamed the lengths he would go to in order to achieve it. Not until the spring when I discovered him with my sister.

My sister is one of the most important people in my life. She is the best of both my parents and the only true family I have left. There is nothing that I wouldn't do to make her happy, and nothing I wouldn't do to protect her. As I know him well, so to does Wickham know me. He used the one thing left in my life that was good and pure in order to exact a revenge he felt owed to him. He seduced her, made her fall in love with him, and tried to turn her against me all because I had denied him wealth.

He was with her for her money while she was with him for love. She believed him to be sincere, and believed him when he told her that I was trying to hurt her by forcing him from her for my own cause. I will not go into the details of how I acted when I discovered their relationship, knowing who he was and what he wanted. I would rather forget those moments that led to my sister's heartbreak. I only wish I had had some other way to have shown her the truth of these things that would have spared her the pain that she felt when Wickham choose my cheque over her affections.

I sincerely wish that you never know the pain of seeing your sister crushed for what someone can gain by using her. I also hope that you might now forgive me my hatred of him, or think me more just in these feelings that I cannot want to change towards him.

You once discussed in your videos the disadvantages of growing up without financial resources. You may not believe this, but I know the disadvantages that come from have too much. You grow up suspicious of those around you. When people think they can take advantage of you, they will. When you have money it is hard to know why people are in your life: because of who you are or what you can provide. This is a pain that I know well, and a pain that I would do all I can to prevent in others. I would not wish Bing to live with the same regrets, betrayals and hurt that I have felt. It is the same, I am sure, as what you would do protect those you care about as well.

I have said all I can say to clarify our latest miscommunication. If you still truly think as poorly of me as you seemed to in your last video, I will direct you to my oldest friend Fitz Williams, who knows of what happened first hand, and has been looking after my sister in my absence ever since.

I hope that I will see you at Bing's birthday party. Until then, be well. Be happy, Lizzie Bennet.

Yours Truly,

William Darcy.

P.S. I feel it prudent to add this word of caution. If Wickham knows of your videos, as I suspect he might, then he is also aware of my attachment to you. I would not put it past him to try to do to you what he did to my sister. Please, do not let him near you. I pray that my warnings have not come too late."

When Lizzie finished the letter, she was no longer ready to go to bed. Once again William Darcy was the reason she wasn't going to get any sleep. Once again, she was left not knowing what the hell to think.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: Thank you to my friend Phil who helped me with this letter.


	10. Coming to Terms

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's Note: So this is the second time uploading this chapter. My apologies to those who couldn't read it before. My computer is quickly limping to it's death, and it seems that my word program is one of the first things to go. But enough about that...

Please keep the reviews coming, they make me happy to know how I'm doing and how I can improve.

The Netherfield Effect.

10. Coming to Terms.

Not for the first time since she left, Lizzie wished that she and Charlotte were on speaking terms. She could have used her level-headed bestie right now. There was too much changing and happening in her life with too little to tie her to the ground. Jane was quickly transforming into one-half of a happy couple, Lydia was showing too much interest in the mysterious "man-cake" George who was proving himself persistent, if nothing else. Add to that Charlotte, and her mother and Darcy and her final year at grad school and worries about her parent's financial situation... and she felt herself lucky to know who she was anymore.

And yet, with all this going on in her life, her attention was constantly being pulled to the one thing in the entire situation that was solid, that she could actually put her fingers on - Darcy's letter. In the week since she had opened it she had read and re-read it until she felt she knew every sentiment, confession and comma held within the pages by heart. She figured that she could pick out his hand writing at 100 yards, not that any of that had brought her any closer to figuring out what she was going to do or felt.

There was a knock at her bedroom door, pulling her attention from the pages that were quickly looking worn. Sitting up on her bed, hiding the letter under her pillow, she called for Jane to enter.

"How did you know it was me?" The eldest Bennet sister asked, almost singing the words to her less than chipper sister.

"You ooze happiness. It enters the room before you do. Plus, I didn't hear and wailing or disappointed remarks from the hall, so I knew you couldn't have been Mom."

"She's still upset about the job?"

Lizzie nodded, "Yeah. I don't suppose you'd want to get pregnant or have a fight with Bing to distract her."

"Sorry. But hey, I'm on my way to Bing's to help him keep Caroline in line with the party planning. She is getting carried away, and it's not easy for him to say no to her. Why don't you come along?"

"Is this some strategy to get Caroline to focus her anger on me so that Bing can get the party he wants?"

"She's not angry with you."

"That isn't a defence, Jane."

Jane rolled her eyes, "Come on, Lizzie. You need to get out of the house, and you'll be doing me a huge favour. Please? I'll make you cookies."

Lizzie knew Jane better than almost anyone. She knew by Jane's expression that she wasn't going to win this one, although she never could really deny either of her sisters as much as she probably felt she should. Right then, her sister was in 'worried older sister' mode which meant that she was one step away from being a constant pusher of tea.

"They better be Snickerdoodles," she grumbled as she reached for a sweater. "And we better not run into Mom on the way out the door."

~*~LBD~*~

"Have you heard from Darcy," Caroline asked Bing five minutes after Jane and Lizzie joined the siblings at the table overflowing with the last minute party planning details and check lists. "He hasn't confirmed yet if he's going to make it back for the party."

"He's a busy guy," Bing allowed, "He'll make it if he can."

"Have you talked to him, Lizzie?" Caroline smiled sweetly, "Since you two seemed to be so close while you were staying here."

Lizzie fought the urge to grit her teeth as she returned the brunette's smile. "No, I haven't."

"Hmmm... I guess it was just a summer thing, then. Must not have been anything worth holding onto for neither of you to try to keep in touch."

"As Bing said, he's a busy guy." She lost her battle, and her jaw clenched. It was either that or smack her. So she supposed it was the lesser of the two evils, even if it was the less satisfying of the available options.

Ever the peace keeper, Bing cleared his throat, pulling both women's attentions to him. "Caroline, did you invite Gigi? And Fitz?"

"Of course, I adore them both. It has been too long since we've spent any time with them. Perhaps I should visit them in San Francisco after your party. Lizzie, have you ever been there?"

"No, I can't say that I have. You'll have to write me about it when you go there."

Jane shot Lizzie a warning look as Caroline continued to tell the sisters about everything she loved about the city the Darcy's lived in and all the things that she had seen with both siblings, proving herself to be an intimate, if not vital, friend of the family.

~*~LBD~*~

"Hey Peach, so three texts and two calls before I can get you on the phone. Either you don't want to talk to me or you're playing hard to get."

Lizzie let out a deep breath, really not knowing how to talk to him now that she had heard the other side of his history. "Or I could just have a lot going on."

"Fair enough, but I prefer to think you're playing hard to get. Listen, I don't have a lot of time to chat, but I just wanted to check to see if we're still on."

"On for what?"

"Bing's party. You did invite me as your date, didn't you?"

Lizzie leaned against her bedroom door, cursing herself for having forgotten. She did invite him to come as her plus one to Bing's party. But that was before: before the letter, before her own doubts, before she didn't know if he was both more and less than he showed himself to be.

"Hey, it's fine if you changed your mind.

She hated herself in moments like these, moments where she was torn and found herself drawn into him, into his voice and into the calm that being around him brought. With him, it was easy, she didn't feel there was anything at risk.

"No, it's just... Darcy. He's going to be there. All things considered, I didn't think you'd want to go with him there."

"I'm not scared of Darcy. Are you?" There was a challenge in his tone, a dare.

"Not at all. I just don't want there to be a scene, not on Bing's birthday."

"Right, because of your sister." His tone said more than she liked. It said that he thought her mother right, and it said that he felt Jane was with Bing not only because she liked him, but because she had something else to gain, something that could be lost by the conflict of having George there.

"No, it's because of Bing. He's my friend, I don't want to be the reason he's uncomfortable at his own birthday."

"Okay, I get that. So I won't go. But you owe me. And I plan to collect, with interest."

Lizzie hung up the phone and instinctively went to the volume of famous letters on her bookshelf, where her own letter was hidden amidst the pages, safely tucked between Jane Austen and Beethoven. She looked between her phone and the letter, the remnants of two men, two stories, two sides of one history. She needed to know which one was true. She needed to bring in someone else. She needed a tiebreaker. Without Charlotte, she really only had one readily available.

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie had gone into Jane's room without a word, and placed the letter before her, silently urging her to read it. By the time her older sister had finished, Lizzie was sitting beside her on the bed, Kitty on her lap, the cat taking up her entire focus, too nervous to dare look at anything else.

"Wow," Jane breathed, putting the letter down and looking at Lizzie as she took the paper back into her possession, "He gave you that?"

"Yeah, the night we went to the bar."

"So what are you going to do?"

Lizzie shrugged, "I don't know, that's why I came to you. I mean, what if it isn't true?"

"Do you really think that Darcy would lie? And include his own sister?"

"When it comes to Darcy, I don't know what to think anymore."

Jane was silent a long moment, trying to find the best way to broach the topic that had long been on her mind. "Lizzie, do you think that, just maybe, you really do like him?"

Lizzie couldn't fight her groan. "Jane, I don't _know_ him. How can anyone be expected to like someone they really don't know the character of? Everyone I know gives such different reports of him that I hardly know what to think."

"What about this Fitz the letter mentions?"

Lizzie opened the page to where she had been encouraged to call Fitz Williams, and even gave a number for him. Darcy had urged her to use it. 'If you still truly think as poorly of me as you seemed to in your last video...' that was what he said. That was what he had wrote to her. Did she still think that ill of him? She knew that he really could be all those things that she had called him in the beginning; but she also knew that those things weren't all he was. But, by calling Fitz wasn't she saying that she didn't believe that? That she only thought him petty and selfish and full of arrogant pride?

"You think I should call him?"

"I think you should do what you feel is right. You haven't been yourself since he left, and while I know that a lot has been going on, you can't tell me that even a little of that isn't because of him."

~*~LBD~*~

Fitz Williams frowned when he looked at his phone as it began to ring with an unknown phone number and stranger's name flashing on the display - a stranger's name that he had been told to expect over a month before.

"I really need to stop putting my faith in women," he sighed as a greeting into the phone, leaning back into his chair. "Elizabeth Bennet, I was told to expect your call."

She was taken aback by his comment. "Uh- Hello. Fitz Williams?"

"The one and only. What can I do for you?"

"Darcy told you I'd call?"

He nodded. "He said you might. Although after I watched your videos I told him you wouldn't. I should have learned my lesson, I guess. Never bet with that man. Last time I did, I ended up having to be the one to tell his sister that Santa Claus wasn't real."

She laughed, "What?" She liked his voice, there was an ease to it that pulled her in. Like a fuzzy blanket, or a childhood friend who didn't yet learn how to lie.

"Granted she was ten so it was probably time. It was the year after her mother died. Guess what she wanted for Christmas." He paused. "If you ever meet her, don't tell her I told you that..."

Thirty minutes later and Lizzie was wishing more men were like Fitz Williams. They fell easily the conversations of old friends not strangers, which had spiralled into so many topics that she had almost forgotten the reason why she called in the first place.

"You have once again proved that all the good men are taken. And gay."

"Thank you for the compliment Lizzie B. But I do think you are wrong." He assured her, the playfulness leaving his tone at last, "There are still some good ones left that like women."

She suddenly felt uncomfortable. "You're talking about Darcy."

"I know that you don't see it now..."

She cut him of. "What do you mean?"

He paused and she could almost picture the surprised confusion on the face she's never seen before. "You called me. I'm assuming it was about Darcy and that letter he wrote you."

"It was," she allowed.

"So I assumed that meant that you didn't exactly take him at his word, which, by the way, will hurt him when he finds out."

"Does he have to find out?"

"You are sneaky, Lizzie B. I like your style. Okay, I won't tell him, yet, if you give me a reason not to. Deal?"

"Deal."

"So," he began again, "You have a problem with my man, Darcy." It wasn't a question or an accusation. It was simply fact.

"Sort of," she allowed.

"Gey, I get it. I do. He is not always the easiest of men to be around."

She smirked, "He is insufferable at times with his knack for playing devil's advocate."

"But..." he prodded.

"He's not a bad guy, is he?"

"Not compared to most. I've seen him go to hell and back for those he loves. He will set himself up to be hurt time and time again if it stops someone he cares about from being hurt instead."

"White knight syndrome?"

"Well I wouldn't go that far, but the modern, hipster-ish equivalent, sure."

"And, do you know George Wickham?"

He inhaled a deep breath. She wasn't beating around the bush. He admired that. "Yeah, I do. Well, I did."

"And what Darcy put in the letter, that was accurate?"

"While I don't know exactly what he wrote, I do know Darcy. He's not prone to exaggerating, and I doubt he would lie about anything. And I'm betting I could have used more colourful language to describe that dude."

"Not a fan?"

"Not since he punched me in the face. He was nineteen. And he's gone steadily downhill from there in my estimation." He paused, "You're not mixed up with him, are you? What is it with smart women doing dumb things with dumb ass men?"

She focused on the letter she still held. "No, I'm... I don't know. There is something about him that doesn't always seem genuine. But I needed to know for sure. I've made too many mistakes with taking things at face value."

"And Darcy doesn't make a good first impression."

She smirked again, "No, he doesn't."

"But, he does grow on people."

"Yeah," she allowed, "He kind of does. And, I admit that he also doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would slander someone else to make nice with someone who is barely in his life."

"So..." He seemed to be fishing for something.

She rolled her eyes, stopping herself from laughing. It was easy to talk to Fitz. Too easy. "What?"

"Just wondering the question of the hour. Or at least the past thirty-five minutes. If you don't think so badly of him, then..."

"Why call you?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Not that I haven't enjoyed talking to you."

She shifted, uncomfortable about the real reason. She settled for a different truth. "I don't have his number, so I couldn't have asked him?"

"Well, if that is the case then you are in luck, because, as one of his closest friends and business associates, I just so happen to have that information, which I could give you."

"No," she said quickly, "You don't have to."

"See, Lizzie B, this is why I still don't think you trust him. The trust is not there in your voice."

"You know, I now understand how you and he are friends. You're both pains in the ass."

"Fair, but that's not answering the question."

She sighed. "I'm sure that he's busy, and has very important things to do with his time. I don't think he'd want to be taken away from that, not for me."

Fitz took in a long, steadying breath, wondering how someone as intelligent and witty and quick as Lizzie had showed herself to be in her videos could also be so very slow. "Look, I'm not going to butt into this, no matter what my opinions are and how much I think you both need help to wake up and smell the love. All I'm going to say is that Darcy is a private person, and protecting his sister from any harm, real or potential, is something that he does not take lightly. But he trusted you enough to tell you about what happened with her. For a guy like Darce, that's big. That means something. I think you need to come to grips that you might be a little more important to him than you're currently giving him, and yourself, credit for."

He paused. He waited for her to say something. He waited for her to deny it, or to call him crazy. But there was only breathing on the other end.

"Lizzie? You still there?"

"Yeah," she assured him, her fingers tracing the post script on his letter. "Listen, I have to go. But thank you for talking to me. And I promise that I won't tell if you won't."

"Scout's honour."

"Will I see you at Bing's party?"

"If you're going to be there, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Hey, you okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I am. Everything is going to work out, I think. I just- there is something that I think I have to do."

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: Thank you for everyone who has stayed with me so far. I know that the last two chapters have stuck pretty much to canon, and I appreciate the feedback I've gotten about this. Let me assure you that from this point on, things sort of take on a life of their own.


	11. Making Amends

Disclaimer: Not even a little mine.

Author's Note: Because of all the issues I had posting the last chapter here is a second one as a way of apology.

And remember that nothing says that you forgive me by leaving a review.

The Netherfield Effect.

11. Making Amends.

Lydia was waiting for her sister when she finally entered her room. It was late and Lizzie had spent most of the day out, not that Lydia had paid attention to where or why the older Bennet had gone. It gave her time to do what she did best where her sister was concerned - snoop.

"You do know," she said as soon as Lizzie had shut her door and before she had realized that her sister was sitting on her bed, "That Wicks is a lot hotter than Darcy." She looked over the letter to where Lizzie stood, not looking impressed. "Just saying."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "You can't always judge a person by how attractive they are." She moved forward to take the letter from Lydia. "What are you doing with this?"

"I heard you and Jane talking about it. And your hiding spot? Way predictable, sis."

"What are you doing here, Lydia?"

"Just coming to check on you. Wicks said you've been avoiding him."

Lizzie dropped the book that had been doubling as a hiding place. "You've been talking to George?"

Lydia shrugged, "He sent me a message on twitter, no bigs. He was worried about you." She held up her hands in defence at Lizzie's frown, "Hey, it wasn't like I was putting the moves on him. I wouldn't do that, you probably already infected him with you nerd germs."

"Lydia, promise me that you'll be careful around him."

"So you believe him then? Darcy over Wicks? That's a surprise."

"Did you actually read the letter?"

"Skimmed, mostly. I mean who writes like that anyway? Major snore-fest. So, are you going to date both of them? Maybe they'll fight over you! Naked. In jello..."

"Lydia!"

"What? Really, sis, you are totally a prude. How you got two hot man-muffins interested in you is beyond me."

"Lydia, Wickham is just trying to get at Darcy and Darcy just doesn't want George to succeed."

Lydia rolled her eyes, wondering how her sister could willingly be so dumb. "He totally likes you. His letter says so."

"Of couse that's the part you read. Look, I'm not going to fight with you over this. Just promise me that you won't tell anyone what you saw in this letter."

"Like there is anything in there worth advertising."

"And promise that you'll be safe. Please don't let Wickham take advantage of you."

"As if."

"Lydia..."

Lydia rolled her eyes again before nodding. "I promise. O.M.G. You are such a nerd." She threw her arms around Lizzie, holding her close.

"You know, I really don't understand why you think that's such a bad thing."

~*~LBD~*~

It was less than a week until the party and George Wickham was finally where he wanted to be - he was in Lizzie's bedroom. She had been filming when he showed up, lamenting on her not returning his phone calls. He was playing to the camera, she knew. And with the camera still rolling he 'naturally' brought up her history with Darcy, which of course led to his history with the taller man. While playing with the newsie hat, he repeated much of the same story that he had told her before. She nodded as she listened, making sure to stop him before he strayed to other, more sensitive aspects of the story.

"I've heard some really great things about Oxford," she said when he had finished, "It's a pity you didn't get a chance to go."

He nodded, "Yeah, well without money, there wasn't much I could do."

"But things turned out okay, right? I mean you like what you do. And according to the university website, you're one of the best coaches they have."

He paused, his eyes not leaving the camera. "You checked the university website?"

She nodded, "Of course I did. You have such a passion for swimming and since I don't know anything about it as a sport I thought I could learn a thing or two from the athletics page and I found your profile... Wait, I have a print out somewhere. You are quite accomplished." She reached around, pulling out a piece of paper before turning back to the camera, "This guy has won competitions and awards on two continents. Here and in England... during your undergrad. Wait, how is that..."

He coughed, "Yes, well. I did manage to do one year abroad before the funds ran out."

"Because Darcy only gave you enough for one year?" The way she said it made them both aware that she knew differently.

"Well..." He gave her a look and she knew. She knew that Darcy hadn't lied to her, and while she no longer had doubts, she had been glad that he had been vindicated. She liked knowing that he had been correct about everything in that letter - it gave her hope about what else he hadn't lied about.

"Maybe you should go."

She smiled sweetly at him, fighting not to look at the camera. And as she watched Wickham walk out her door, she hoped that she would never see him again.

Once he was gone she looked back to the camera and shrugged, a smile working it's way across her lips before she reached out and turned the camera off. Whatever came next, she figured she was ready for it - and for what it meant.

~*~LBD~*~

The next day she uploaded the video. She hadn't done much editing to it, hoping that it would speak for itself. Not ten minutes after it's posting she received a text alert on her phone from a number that she didn't recognized. The message had only two words. 'Thank you.'

Her stomach fluttered. It had a San Francisco prefix. Could it be Darcy? She suddenly wished she hadn't told Fitz she didn't want his number. Then, at least, she would have known for sure. Then it wouldn't feel like it was too much to hope that maybe he had seen her video.

'Darcy?' she texted back and waited with baited breath.

The reply came right away. 'Yes and no. While I am a Darcy, I'm not the one you were expecting. Fitz gave me your number.'

'Gigi?'

'Yes. I saw your video and I wanted to say thanks. I won't be at Bing's party but I hope we'll get a chance to meet in person soon. I'm glad William was right about you.'

Lizzie smiled, happy that she could help someone, especially if that someone connected to Darcy. After all, she told herself, trying to keep herself calm, after everything that had happened, it really was the least that she could do.

~*~LBD~*~

William Darcy had buried himself in work. If anyone were to ask, he would tell them that it tended to mount up when he was away from the office. There was only so much one could do without actually being there. On this he was adamant. There was no other reason that his sour mood that had accompanied him back from Bing's still remained. It wasn't until late at night while fighting for sleep that he thought to admit to himself another possible cause - that he missed something that he had never thought he would find in that tiny town. He missed the debates and the peaceful moments looking at the stars and waking up to an arm that had gone to sleep because it was being used as a pillow, and the faint smell of perfume that clung to a jacket days after it had been worn.

He missed a girl that had told him off, and looked down on him for the qualities he lacked as much as for what he had; a girl that cared for quality over quantity. He missed the girl that had challenged him in ways that he had forgotten he could be challenged, and brought him back to the life that he had forgotten he was allowed to have after his parents died.

She had become his centre point, his balance, and without her he felt overwhelming loss and permanently off kilter.

He knew what that meant. He's known it on some level since that very first moment they met - since the first insult that was slung. But now that she wasn't around him, it was all that he could think about, when he could bare to think of it at all.

Gigi burst into his office at noon, all smiles, knowing as soon as she saw him that he hadn't seen it yet. Lizzie's latest video. The one where she exposed Wickham in his own lies.

From her perch on the arm of his chair, she watched him as he watched it. Watched as his expression went from pained to anger to relief to something she had never seen in his expression before.

"You were okay," he asked when he caught her eye, "Watching this?"

She put her arms around his shoulders, leaning into him as she had as a child, "I am fine, William. Really. Now, I just want to make sure that you are too."

He frowned, "I don't know what you mean."

"Caroline called me, practically demanding to know if we are going to Bing's. I told her that while I cannot, I believed you would."

"Gigi..."

"Oh come on. Fitz has his heart set on meeting Lizzie. Are you telling me that you aren't wanting to see her as well?"

"I am not convinced that she would wish to see me."

"I think you're wrong."

His eyebrow arched at her. "Oh really?"

"Yes. And there is only one way that you will be able to convince me otherwise."

"Which is?"

"By going there in person."

"You will have me make a fool of myself to her?"

"That is only if I'm wrong. And we both know how much I hate being wrong." Sharing his smile, she stood. "I've had your schedule cleared and your flight is already booked. Have fun, and remember to prove me right."

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie didn't know what to wear, and her nerves were showing. And Lydia wasn't helping. She had reported in her excited tone that Darcy had arrived back at Netherfield the previous day, and he didn't come back alone. Since before hearing that news Lizzie had been nervous. With Wickham out of the picture she had more attention to put on the night ahead of her. And she had thought her nerves were mostly for Jane's sake. Bing had, after all, invited her entire family. That meant Lydia; and their mother. Always a recipe for disaster. But to know that Darcy was really there, to know that he was indeed going to be at Bing's, witnessing her sister and mother's behaviour... well she wasn't about to deny that was now most of the reason she found her nerves as bad as they were.

The rest of the reason, she figured, was because she couldn't decide what to wear.

When Jane came in she was amidst a panic. Her hair was done, but she was only wearing her bra and underwear, staring at her closet as though it was torturing her or hiding vital information about the whereabouts of Santa Claus or Elvis.

"Is that what you're wearing to the party?" Jane asked, smoothing down the dress she had selected with more care and second guessing than she once would have. As it was, she was nothing compared to her little sister. "You'll be sure to leave an impression with Bing's friends."

"I have nothing to wear. I- I'm not going."

Rolling her eyes, Jane moved past Lizzie, reaching into her closet and taking out the dress that they had gone out and bought for the occasion, only two days before. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous."

She started to laugh, uncomfortably, "Nervous? Me? What do I possibly have to be nervous about?" She swallowed back her unease when she noticed Jane's expression, the older woman wasn't buying it. "Please don't answer that. Jane, what if I'm wrong?"

"Then you move on."

"Right. Move on. That's easy." She put on the dress, taking calming breaths as Jane zipped her up. "How do I look?" She checked out her appearance in the mirror. "Think I look better than Caroline? Because that would really help make me feel better."

Jane rolled her eyes. "You look beautiful. Now come on, we have to go if we want to be there early."

Lizzie paused halfway out the door. "Early?"

"Do you want mom to witness your seeing Darcy for the first time? She and Lydia will be coming later on."

"Your idea?" Jane nodded. "I am so glad you're on my side."

"That's what sisters are for."

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie couldn't help but wonder what it was with driving up towards Netherfield and feeling like she was going to her death.

"They have a valet?" She asked suddenly when they pulled up to the house. "Serious, what the hell is with rich people?"

Jane merely shook her head as she got out of the car. Having no other choice, as Jane gave over her keys, Lizzie followed suit. She looked up at the house much as she had that first day two and a half months ago when they arrived for what was suppose to be a short stay. Things weren't suppose to change that much in such a short amount of time. She remembered being uneasy that first day as she looked at the windows, wondering where Darcy was inside. Now she felt much the same, although she would admit that it was for a different reason.

She watched as Jane went inside as though she belonged there. Lizzie, however, stayed outside a moment longer, looking towards the sky as night was overtaking the horizon, trying to decide if she would soon be able to see the stars.

~*~TBC~*~


	12. Party Time

Disclaimer: Not falling for it. You can't make me say it again!

Author's Note: So we're in the home stretch. This marks the potential 3/4 mark. Thank you to everyone for sticking with me to get here. And I hope that you'll stick with until the end.

The Netherfield Effect.

12. Party Time.

Whoever said that being late was fashionable had never been to a party at Netherfield. Despite arriving an hour before most of the guests were to arrive, Lizzie and Jane weren't anywhere near the first ones there. There was over a dozen people mingling in groups when Lizzie finally coaxed herself inside.

Caroline had outdone herself with this party. She had already felt out of place, but seeing the decorations left her feeling smaller than she ever had before. Not that she would admit it, after all Lizzie wasn't one to allow herself to be intimidated easily.

She looked around in the moment before she was noticed. Bing was with Jane, his arm around her, introducing her to his classmates, another group of friends - probably other med students by the look of them - were by the bar. There was a third group, comprising mostly of what looked to be family. And there, away from everyone, was Caroline and Fitz and Darcy, with his back to the door.

Caroline noticed her first, and smiled brightly as she would with any guest, placing her hand on Darcy's arm as she moved by him to greet Lizzie. Darcy turned and looked at her and Lizzie, for her part, couldn't pay attention to anything but the look on his face, on how he seemed as uncertain as she was at how to greet her.

Then there was movement beside her and she was being hugged. She laughed as she pulled back, realizing that this must be Fitz.

"Lizzie B," he greeted, looking her over, "You are more beautiful than you appear on screen."

"How are you, Fitz?" Her voice was light, although tinged with regret. Even after knowing him through one phone call she had missed him.

"You two have met?" Darcy asked, coming upon them, eyebrow raised almost knowingly.

Lizzie and Fitz exchanged a guilty look. "I've never seen him before in my life," Lizzie assured him, "I would remember that hair."

"Well, not everyone is an internet celebrity." He looked to Darcy, "Did you know that there are meme's dedicated to this woman?"

Darcy smirked, enjoying the blush that rose to her cheeks. "No, I did not."

Lizzie avoided his eye, deciding instead to lean towards Fitz, already feeling more at ease with having him around, "Does he even know what a meme is?"

"Yes, I think so. But, unless you want to start a debate over syntax, don't ask his opinion of demotivational posters."

She laughed, well believing his possible reaction to the often contradictorily named internet movement. "Gotcha."

"Are you two are quite done," Darcy interjected, hands buried in his pockets, "Or am I going to continue to be the butt of your jokes for the remainder of the evening?"

"Come on, Darcy," Caroline put in with a frown, sliding her arm through his, "We should collect my brother, more family has just arrived."

"Well she's a subtle as a brick to the face," Fitz muttered, watching them leave. "Think she could throw herself at him any more?"

Lizzie shrugged, not liking the jealousy she felt as she watched the other woman link arms with Darcy as though she belonged there. "Well, she could try it without wearing clothes. Do you suppose she'll let him out of her sights any time soon?"

He looked like he thought about it for a few seconds before shaking his head. "I think we have time for a drink. Or two. After you..."

~*~LBD~*~

"So your friend actually works for Collins and Collins?" Fitz asked with a laugh. They had spent the majority of the party hidden away in the corner of the room, drinking and talking about their lives and the people in them. While not how she usually spent her evenings, she quickly found herself enjoying this one more than she had first believed she would.

"You know it?"

"Oh yeah. In fact, I'll be spending a month there very soon. Darcy's aunt is the backer."

"Wait, Darcy's aunt is the Ms. de Bourgh I've heard so much about?"

"The one and only. Wait, wasn't your friend - Charlotte - finishing grad school with you?"

Lizzie frowned into her drink and nodded. "Yeah, she gave it up for this job."

"Ouch..." he said, feeling the pain of the choice that Charlotte would have had to made. Their conversation fell silent, however, when he noticed Darcy standing near them. "Hey, you made it out alive. Lizzie owes me five bucks. She said that you would have had to chew off your arm to escape Caroline."

Darcy didn't make a reply. He was too caught up in looking at Lizzie, too caught up in having her look at him while she struggled to remember to breath. How he could look at someone like that, with such intensity, was beyond her. It shouldn't be legal. Before it made her uncomfortable thinking that he was looking for faults and defects. Now it made her uncomfortable for reasons she was still struggling to come to terms with.

Fitz cleared his throat, "And that's my cue to check out the local eye candy. I'll check on you two later."

Lizzie blushed, "Hi."

"Would you like to dance?"

Trying to hide her smile she nodded, following him to the dancefloor, wondering which type of dancing she should be expecting - the dancing from the day spent at the vineyard, or the dancing from the wedding.

It was somewhere in between.

"How is Charlotte settling into her new role at Collins and Collins?" He asked after clearing his throat. He was looking past her. He knew had to if he had any chance to actually converse with her successfully.

For her part, she was taken aback. Of all the things they had to talk about he had chosen to talk about Charlotte instead? "I actually don't know. We haven't spoken since she left."

"That must be difficult for both of you. Especially considering how much you would have needed her as of late."

She paused in her step, "You still watch my videos?"

He cleared his throat, "My sister has been persistent in keeping me updated on your goings on. I believe she is a fan of yours."

"I'm flattered. And you're right, I've really missed not having her around, but I can't be okay with her decision."

He gave her a half shrug, finding himself more comfortable with her, talking to her. That they were very possibly on the brink of a sparring match felt like old times. "And yet it was her decision to make."

She stared at him for a moment, surprised at his comment, before shaking her head. She should have known he would take such a position. "Tell me something, honestly?"

"Of course."

"As a businessman, what do you think of her choice? Was it sound?"

He thought it over, weighing his words before he said them. At one time she would have found it annoying and a sign that he didn't think she was worth speaking earnestly with, that he had to censor himself. Now, she knew that it was the opposite, and she hoped it meant that she was worth the time and effort of an honest answer. He wouldn't dumb things down or sugar coat them. For that, she was grateful.

"While I understand the want to continue her degree, especially considering how little time left she had, I understand that life can sometimes get in the way of the plans that we make for ourselves and we must adapt. She can still finish her degree in time and she is gaining vital experience and contacts in the field while benefiting from joining a financially sound company while still in development. She is, in a way, building it into something that she, too, can be proud of.

"If she is successful and even if she does not manage to complete her degree, I feel that future employers would look upon her as a vital asset to their cooperation. I cannot imagine that Collins and Collins is an end point for her in her career. I feel that it is more likely just the beginning of what I can only believe is a bright future in the industry."

She was silent as she listened to him, allowing him to move her about the dance floor without attending to her own steps until she found them standing still and the music silent.

"It is what we do with what is in front of us that makes us who we are; not what we do not do."

"Lizzie..." Jane said coming between them with an apologetic expression upon her worried face, "I need your help."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Some of Bing's college friends have been feeding Lydia alcohol. She's steadily approaching her pass out point. And mom's in the other room..."

"Being mom," she sighed, her own anxiety at the possible disaster before them growing. "Okay, this is okay. It is fine. We got this. After all, this is why we have backup plans."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Darcy asked, looking between the pair.

She froze, her mouth impersonating a goldfish's as she tried to think of how best to react to his offer. This was just what Lizzie had been afraid of: Darcy seeing the embarrassment that was her family.

"Can you help me bring her outside?" Jane asked, glancing between the pair before focusing on her sister, "You get mom. We'll meet you by the car."

~*~LBD~*~

"Mom," Lizzie greeted, pulling her away from where she was about to go into the room where Bing's peers were. The one place Lizzie's mom should never be, "I need you to take Lydia home. Someone's been feeding her booze."

"Now, Elizabeth, I am sure that your sister is just fine. There is no need for me to..."

"Mom, Jane and I have both been drinking and we can't drive her home. If she makes a scene in front of Bing, what will that say about Jane?"

Her mother paused as to think about the possibility of damage to Jane's reputation by Lydia making a scene and Lizzie knew she almost had her. She just needed to add the icing onto the cake, "And Darcy..."

"What about that unpleasant man, Lizzie?"

"Well, he's actually helping Jane now. He's bringing Lydia outside. Just consider what might happen if he tells his friend..."

"Enough said. I'll get the car."

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie exhaled deeply as she watched her mother drive her sister home. It wasn't until the car was out of sight that she focused on the man that still stood behind her. When Lizzie and her mother came out of the house, he had been carrying Lydia around to meet them, Jane following with her baby sister's shoes and purse.

"I don't suppose your sister's ever done something like that?" She asked, turning to look at him. She was embarrassed that he had seen that, and also embarrassed that her mother barely thanked him for helping Lydia into the car.

"Not that I am aware, although it is more likely that she has not told me about it than her never having done it at all. I was that age once, after all."

She smiled at him, the air between them wavering between comfortable and awkward, "I'm not sure I believe that."

"Then Fitz is a better friend than I have given him credit for. Those are usually his favourite stories to tell." He looked her over a moment before both became aware that there were as many people starting to mill about outside as in. It was getting late, and he knew that soob she would have to go home. "Shall we go somewhere a little more quiet?"

"I'd like that."

~*~LBD~*~

She smirked shyly when he led her to his room. If it had been anyone else she would have immediately thought they were putting the moves on her. That it was Darcy, she was convinced that he probably wouldn't think of the possible connotations for his choice of room until too late.

At the sight of his blush when he shut the door, she knew that he was now aware of them.

How had she never noticed how cute he was when he was flustered?

"So, how many of Bing's friends have come from out of town?"

"Most, I believe. A large number have driven from LA and are driving back tonight."

"They're not staying at the Hotel Netherfield?"

"The inn is full, actually. Between your sister's permanent room, Fitz and myself, there are enough of his family here to make me wish that I had booked a hotel."

She smirked, walking around his desk, glad for the distance between them. "Not big on company?"

"Bing's family is very persistent in certain areas of conversation."

"Oh? As in the areas concerning Caroline and yourself?" She had moved closer to his bed, nervous energy making her unsure of what she should do or say or even sit. She did note as she ran her fingers over the soft spread covering the mattress both the comfort of the bed and the uneasiness that washed over him with her action. It made her glad that she wasn't alone in feeling uneasy. "Why don't you just tell her that you don't like her? Or do you like her?" She added quickly, the possibility never having occurred to her before.

His lips smirked before he could stop them. She didn't seem to enjoy that possibility. "No. While I do enjoy her company, in smaller doses, that is as far as my interest in her goes. She is the sibling of my best friend, and as such is a necessary evil." He stopped. "I should not have said that."

She tried not to laugh. "Now who is being judgmental? It's a good thing my opinion of her was already coloured."

He was staring at her again. It amazed her that it no longer bothered her as it once did. When he looked at her like that she used to feel small, now it made her feel almost larger than life, as though she were the only person in the room.

Her eyes met his, and she found herself moving towards him, meeting him in the middle of the room. There was a lot that she wanted to tell him. Even more that she felt the need to ask. But the connection between her thoughts and her mouth seemed to be experiencing technical difficulties, and she didn't know what to say.

Almost at the same time their phones chirped. She smiled with relief as they both looked at their own interruption.

"Jane."

"Fitz."

"She says party is dying down. Most people are leaving and that she's staying here tonight. She wants to know if I'm okay to make it home."

He cleared his throat, feeling the heat rise over the collar of his shirt, glad for the dim light in the room. "Fitz's message is better left unrepeated in mixed company."

She laughed even as she typed her reply to Jane, assuring her that she would be fine. "Wishing you luck?"

"Let us leave it with him being aware of where you currently are."

"Ah, wishing you lucky," she allowed, putting her phone away. "He's a good guy, that Fitz. Strange, but good."

"He is. I cannot picture my life without him. Tell me... Y-" He paused, trying to find the right words, "You called him, didn't you?" His tone tried not to sound hurt, and mostly succeeded. "It is alright if you did. After all, I would not have provided the number if I had felt otherwise."

"I did call him," she confessed, not able to look at him. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"I understand," he told her, moving to step back and put space between them.

She grabbed his forearm quickly, willing him not to leave, not to misunderstand her as she had him. "Wait, no. I don't think you do."

His back straightened and muscles tightened at the feel on her hand against his skin. "Really, Lizzie. There is no need to explain. I am grateful for the time we spent together and that you were able to see through Wickham's guise before your feelings were put at risk. And if you still do not think well of me then there is nothing else I can do to convince you otherwise."

"Kiss me," she told him, surprising them both with the words. She hadn't meant to say the thing that she had been avoiding thinking since coming into his room - that she had wanted him to kiss her. That was how she had known that things were George wasn't right. There had been nothing there behind his kiss. Now, faced with Darcy, and with all the words that she wasn't sure were right to say... this just seemed easier.

"What?"

"You could kiss me?"

Slowly, as if not believing her request real, he stepped forward, his hand nervously going to the nape of her neck, guiding her forward to meet him halfway in a kiss that he still didn't believe was real, even as her lips met his.

And she knew. Even as the chaste brushing of his lips against her quickly became anything but, and she was on the tips of her toes, her hands in his hair and around his tie, pulling him closer, and his arms were the only things keeping her in this world... all the passion that had filled their sparring matches being replayed through their lips. When the panic of her situation, of the truth of the potential strength of her emotions, began to flutter in her chest she broke the kiss and moved away from him as though she had been burned.

"I shouldn't be here." She told him, trying to steady her heart rate and the quivering in her legs. "I need to go home, I think."

He looked lost and confused, not that she could blame him. Hell, she was confused and she had some idea what was going on with her. All Darcy understood was that the woman he cared about had asked him to kiss her, had responded to him kissing her, had seemed to really enjoy him kissing her, and then backed away from him as though it was the last thing in the world she actually wanted.

He swallowed a few times, trying to adjust his thoughts enough to catch up with the turn of events. "D- did you need a drive?"

She shook her head, wanting to laugh even though she knew it wasn't the time. Only Darcy would offer her a drive after something like that. "No, we have a car here. And it's not far, I could even walk."

"I'm not letting you walk home." His tone left her without a doubt he would fight her on that no matter what she could say. "Why don't you stay here?" Her eyebrow rose as his furrowed, not appreciating the amusement she found in the situation. "I meant in the house. With your sister, perhaps, or you could take my room and I will..."

"I'm not going to kick you out of your bed, Darcy." She went back to the desk, having left her sweater on the smooth wooden surface in hurried movements, not daring to look up at him as she smoothed her skirt, wishing she could soothe her own thoughts and doubts as easily.

"Lizzie," he said softly, his tone stilling the raging uncertainty within her, and bringing her back to that moment. She turned and looked at him. They were both standing in the room, between them was the large bed that had turned into the elephant in the room. He sighed. "Please tell me what's wrong. Did I...?"

"It's too fast."

He smiled, a warm, genuine smile the likes of which she had never seen from him. While nothing with her was going the way he had wanted from the first moment they met, at least she wasn't telling him no. "Then take it slow." He sat on the edge of the bed, and gestured for her to do the same. "Please, Lizzie, I would be happy to just continue our conversation."

It would be a lie to say that Lizzie felt better and that the rest of the evening past without any awkwardness. Neither of them said anything that was earth shattering or all important. They didn't broach the topic that both felt the desperate need to talk about - them. What was happening between them. Because as she fell asleep on his bed, beside him, she knew that things would never truly be easy, and she would never be happy until she knew that she wasn't the only one who was on the fast track to falling in love.

~*~TBC~*~


	13. All About the Drama

Disclaimer: … you know this part. I don't own it. I'm just taking it out to play.

Author's Note: I apologize for the angst and drama ahead... but really, it kind of had to happen. Because Wickham isn't the kind of guy who gives up easily and Lizzie and Darcy aren't there just yet. But they will be. Soon. Promise.

The Netherfield Effect.

13. All About The Drama.

Darcy was disappointed to discover that he had woken up alone. Confused, he looked around, wondering if he had dreamt her there, sleeping beside him. But he hadn't; he could see the evidence of her having been there. The blanket that he had placed over her was pulled back, slung carefully over him instead, the pillow still had the impression from someone laying against it, and there was a piece of paper on the bedside table that he didn't think had been there before.

It was still early, the sun had barely begun rising over the horizon. It was too early for him to be up considering the late night that he had just had. After all, he and Lizzie had spent most of the night arguing about literature until she gave him the comeback of "you suck" and he soon saw that she was sleeping. That had been only a couple hours before. He should have the urge to go back to sleep. But he didn't. He was too awake for that. He had too many thoughts and questions spinning around his head. Lizzie had been there. When did she leave? Why didn't she wake him?

He reached for the paper, flicking on the light to see better in the dimly lit room. It was a receipt for tampons. Darcy found his brain fighting between feeling amused and embarrassed and didn't know which would win. At least he knew for a fact that it didn't belong to him, he reasoned as he turned it over.

And there it was, a hastily written note in black ink. She must have been in a rush when she scribbled the uneven lines, and based upon the crossed out words and bad punctuation, she must not have been sure of what, exactly, to say.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go check on Lydia. If I woke you up you would have insisted on driving me home. I didn't want anyone to see me leaving here and well... here's my number. I figure you might want to make sure I got home okay. Or not. But I hope you would."

Note in hand, Darcy leaned back against his headboard, trying to figure out what was going on. That night, in almost a single breath he had gone from thinking that Lizzie still hated him to kissing her and her kissing him back, to having her pull away from them both... he was reminded of a inane pop song that his sister had obsessed about for months a few years prior. At the time, he had thought the song vapid and ridiculous and uninspired and a perfect example of everything that was wrong with the genre: it manipulated young and impressionable minds into believing that love should be something big and grand and all-inspiring. Something that - in Darcy's prior experience - it really was not. But now he was reminded of it again and felt that it just might actually be appropriate to his current situation.

He made a mental note to try and find out what it was called. Purely for research, of course.

He was still laying there after the sun had risen and he had only been able to come to one conclusion. He was out of his mind. That was the only explanation he could come up with for feeling so strongly for someone who really was so much work.

It was a knock on the door that finally pulled him out of thoughts of the woman that had enraptured him so completely. With a sigh, and hand buried in his hair, he told whomever it was to come in.

He wasn't surprised when Fitz came in with a proud smile. "Hey! Who's the man?"

"Fitz..." he warned.

"You're still wearing what you wore last night. Always a good sign." He settled beside him on the bed, on the space where Lizzie had been, whiping out all reminders that she had been there at all. "Granted not as good of a sign as being without clothes, but you have to learn how to walk before you run. My little Darcy, growing up before my eyes."

He fought his smile. He wasn't in the mood to be cheered up. "Are you quite done?"

"Almost. One second," he said, reaching over and pinching Darcy's cheek as one would a child's. He laughed at Darcy's scowl. "And now I'm done."

"I am relieved. Your good tidings are premature. Nothing happened last night."

"You had a girl in your room and nothing happened? Are you sure you aren't gay?"

"Fitz, you are not helping."

"I didn't know I was suppose to be helping." He admitted before growing serious, "So, tell me what happened."

"I wish I knew. I had been led to believe that women were suppose to be less work as they got older."

"Women are never less work, they just become more worth the effort. Or so I'm told. There is a reason I like men. Men are easy."

~*~LBD~*~

Men, Lizzie Bennet was certain, were too much work. Or at least more work than she had ever thought them worth before. She supposed that was the difference in actually caring about one... but that being said she still wasn't convinced that they were worth the effort.

Once again she had woken up beside Darcy. Unlike last time there was no phone calls or worries or outside forces to distract her from the moment of waking up and seeing him there, still asleep beside her. She smiled lightly, watching him sleep, noting how he had covered her with a blanket and how even though they had moved closer during the course of the evening, he had been respectful even in sleep.

Her phone vibrated from the night stand. Frowning at the interruption, she turned her attention to it, moving in a way that she hoped would allow him to continue to sleep. He looked different - peaceful - with the weight of his world nestled in the back of his mind, safely tucked away until he needed to bear it again.

Besides, it was that hour when late had bled into early and they had just fallen asleep. It would be cruel, she knew, for both of them to be so sleep deprived.

She looked at the text. It was from Mary. She didn't even know that Mary had her number.

'Your sister is drunk and can't find her phone. As this is apparently the end of the world she called me so that I would let you know. Please kill her when you get home. Goodnight.'

She swore. How much did Lydia have to drink and why wasn't she passed out by now? She should have been watching her better, she knew. She hadn't done her sisterly duty in monitoring Lydia's alcohol intake. And now she had to pay the price. She knew that she had to go home.

She was torn. She felt guilty for just leaving and she would also feel guilty for waking him up, knowing that he would most likely insist that he take her home. She didn't want that. She didn't need it. She just needed to get home in the quickest way possible. Plus it was still early - or late - enough that she could probably sneak away before anyone discovered her. All she needed was for her sister, or Bing or Caroline or any one of their family, to see her leaving his room wearing the clothes she wore at the party and smudged, day-old make up.

She rooted in her purse for something to write a note upon. There was probably paper at the desk, the same paper he had used to write her the letter, but that was too far. There was too many chances for him to wake up. And this was easier. The old receipt would have to do.

Finally finishing her note, not caring that it probably would make less sense to him as it did to her, not thinking about how he might think of her poor sentence structure, she removed herself from the mattress that was far too comfortable for her to believe to be strictly legal, and paused while gathering her things together.

He really was quite handsome.

Pushing her luck she covered him with the blanket that had once covered her, and fought the urge to give him a kiss goodnight before leaving to check on her baby sister.

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie wasn't surprised to find Lydia passed out on the livingroom couch, movie menu playing on repeat in the background. Kicking her shoes off, ten dollars poorer from having taken a cab, Lizzie sighed, tossing her things into a chair as she went to take Lydia upstairs.

The younger woman started awake. "What?"

"Come on Lush, time for bed."

"Lizzie," she said dreamily, getting to her feet with her sister's help. "Did you get my text? I can't find my phone..." She looked down, "Did you do the walk of shame?" She threw her arms around her sister, "I am so proud of you."

"You're lucky I love you."

"Was it good?" The youngest Bennet continued when Lizzie had her settled on her bed. "I bet he's as freaky as you are."

"Who?"

"D-man. Who else?" She paused, and Lizzie knew that she'd soon be fast asleep. "Wicks said that you two were made for one another." She stopped, realizing something, "I don't think he meant that as a good thing. Did he?"

It was Lizzie's turn to stop, her mouth growing dry. "Wicks? You mean George Wickham?"

"G. Dubs. Holla..."

Lizzie fell onto the bed with her sister, shaking her to keep her awake. "You've been talking to George Wickham?"

"Yeah." She said from that place between awake and dreams. "He's really sweet."

"Lydia..." Lizzie tried to keep Lydia conscious long enough to find out more. To find out why she was still talking with him or what they had been talking about. She had her suspicions, and they didn't sit well with her.

But it was between being too late and too early and for once she was too tired to do anything but fall asleep beside her sister.

~*~LBD~*~

Sleep wasn't easily found or maintained, and before she thought it right, she was awake and sitting at her desk, staring at her computer, wondering what she should do. It was better than staring at her phone, she rationalized, almost willing it to ring or beep or do something. She wanted to hear from him. She wanted to know that he had gotten her note and that things were okay despite how she left. Maybe if she offered him her second born, he would accept her apology?

Her face flushed at thoughts of how he would collect his previous settlement and now this apology present. She shook those thoughts aside, knowing they really wouldn't help to focus on what she should do.

Not for the first time she wished Charlotte was still there. Not for the first time that morning, she thought about what she and Darcy talked about in regards to her friend. He had brought to the situation a logic that Lizzie had refused to see at the time.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she grabbed her phone and pushed send on her speed dial option one. Her best friend. Charlotte Lu. It was only after it started to ring that she thought about the time. She supposed that it wasn't that early, even if it was a weekend.

"Hey, Lizzie," Charlotte greeted with an unease that didn't surprise Lizzie. After all, it felt like a lifetime since they talked. And considering how much had probably changed in that time for the both of them, it kind of was.

"Hey Char." She answered in kind, "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you."

"No, not at all. I was just sitting down to watch your videos, actually."

"Oh. Listen, I just called because I wanted to tell you that..."

"I know," Charlotte assured her, her voice smiling, "Me too."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. Now, how about you tell me what's going on for you to call me so early on a Saturday..."

~*~LBD~*~

For the first time since leaving Netherfield, Lizzie felt like she had her head on right and the ability to work through whatever was coming her way. Charlotte always did know how to handle Lizzie's indecisiveness and uncertainty.

After an hour on the phone, making up and catching up on one another's lives, Lizzie had showered and settled down in front of her computer again, opening her internet browser to Twitter. And while she had admonished Lydia not long before for knowing Lizzie's passwords, Lizzie was also well aware of what Lydia's most likely were. It didn't take long to find them. The conversations between Lydia and George Wickham. They had started just after Lizzie left Netherfield. Had he been playing both of them? Stringing them both along until one of them bit?

The messages started innocently enough, mostly about Lizzie, then growing more complex as the list of things they had in common grew. Then, suddenly, they changed. Right around when she had filmed her video with him in it. Looking at the messages after that point she knew that these couldn't be all of them. She knew that these were merely the iceberg of their communication. The rest, she figured, were on Lydia's phone. On the phone that Lydia had most likely left at Netherfield.

~*~LBD~*~

There was friendly chatter coming from the library when Jane entered it, her frown mixing with a smile in a way that was uniquely Jane. With hands on her hips she waited for them to see her there, her expression clearly telling them that she had caught them. When they noticed her, they grew silent.

"So this is where everyone is hiding." She shook her head as she looked between the three men before finally focusing on Bing. "I can't believe that you are hiding from your own family. After all, they came here just to see you."

He put his arm around her, pleased when her frown melted away, "You know that if you're here," Bing told her playfully, "That means you're hiding too."

Her jaw slackened, laughing at how he was making her his accomplice. "Don't be mean. Besides, I've been all over this place trying to find Lydia's phone. She left it here last night. I found it in the flower pot on the back deck." Her eyebrows rose when she noticed their curious expressions. "We played a lot of hide and seek as kids. She always found the best hiding places." Her smile widened when Bing kissed her temple. "How did you two enjoy the party?" She asked the silent pair, blushing at the attention.

Fitz coughed, his eyes darting to Darcy, "It was a very entertaining evening, even if it was not as intimate as some people's night."

Bing joined in as Fitz lost his battle not to laught at Darcy's expense. They figured that they couldn't help it. Over the years he had watched both of them fall in love and act awkward and stupid over people the liked. Finally, it was his turn, and they, for their parts, were determined to enjoy every moment and dig they could.

"Am I missing something?" Jane asked, looking between them.

"No."

"Not at all," Bing assured her.

"Hey, how is Lizzie B today?" Fitz hurried to add, casting another look towards his silent friend. "I wonder how she enjoyed her night."

"I don't know, why..." her eyes narrowed when she caught Darcy's annoyed expression. "Are you gossiping about my little sister?" She looked from Fitz to Darcy, "What happened last night?"

"Nothing," the tall man assured her, hands deep in his pockets.

Jane didn't believe him. But she was saved from questioning him further when her phone chimed. She had received a text message. It was from Lizzie.

"Why haven't you called her yet?" Fitz asked Darcy as Jane read what her sister had wrote.

"Jane?" Bing asked, worried as he watched his girlfriend's expression fell, her face a mix of concern and confusion. He could count on one hand the number of times he had seen that expression and he had learned enough about her by now to know that it was never a good sign. "Are you okay?"

She looked up and nodded, although she, herself, wasn't sure. "It's a 911 text from Lizzie. Something must be wrong." She shook her head, needing to find out more. Taking in a deep breath, she called her sister, sinking down into a chair. She sat straight when her sister eventually answered.

"Lizzie? What's going on? I got your text." There was a pause as she listened to her sister's reply. "Yes I'm still at Netherfield." She nodded, "I got a text from Mary too. I found her phone... Are you in a car? Where are you?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "You're? We're in the library but what..." The line went dead.

"Is everything alright?" Bing asked.

"I don't know. She sounded upset, but she'll be here in a minute. I don't know what could have happened..." her eyes met Darcy's. That he seemed as concerned as Jane stopped the fears that her sister's distress had something to do with him.

"Jane?" Lizzie called, coming into the room. She stopped short at the sight of the men there. But she couldn't worry about that now, not while Lizzie the spy was on a case. "Do you have Lydia's phone?" She asked, focusing on her sister, her voice a mix of concern and anger.

"Yes, I have it here," Jane said, taking the phone from her pocket and giving it to Lizzie. Together they moved to the couch. Jane cast a glance up in time to see Bing and the others going to the door, knowing that they could use come privacy. But she also knew that there was no way that any of them were going to go far away in case things were as serious as she, herself, was beginning to believe them to be. "Lizzie, what's wrong? Is Lydia in trouble?"

"Hopefully not."

"You know her password?" She asked, eyebrow raised as Lizzie quickly unlocked the pink phone.

Lizzie sighed. "Lucky guess. Only Lydia would have it set as banana."

"That's not a reference to the fruit, is it?" When Lizzie's eyes met hers, she knew it wasn't. She watched Lizzie access Lydia's texts. "Lizzie, I don't feel right invading her privacy like this. What are you hoping to find?"

There was a pause that made Jane wonder if Lizzie was actually going to answer her as the younger woman took a long, deep breath. She had found it. The name, and the text history containing hundreds of exchanges. Her heart fell. "She's been texting George Wickham."

Jane glanced up to see Lizzie look around as if just noticing when she said the name that Darcy was no longer there. Frowning, she took the phone when Lizzie's finger stopped scrolling. "They've been talking for weeks. Some of these aren't meant for our eyes," she added when she saw a recent message of a rather adult nature. She put the phone down. Neither of them needed to see anymore. "This is so not good. How did you..."

Lizzie's voice was uneven when shs finished the thought that Jane couldn't bring herself to ask. "Lydia told me this morning when I was putting her to bed. She called him sweet, Jane. And those first messages he sent her, they're the same kind that he sent to me."

"You think he's playing with her? Why would he do that?"

Jaw tightened, Lizzie stood. "Because he's a son of a bitch."

"Lizzie, what are you going to..."

Trying to keep her breathing calm she shook her head, focusing on her sister's phone. "I am going to find him and kick his lying manipulative ass."

"Lizzie... What does Lydia say about this?"

"I don't know. She was still asleep when I left. I have to find him..."

"No," Jane assured her, holding her back from trying to leave, "You are not going after him. We need to talk to Lydia. We need to make sure that she's okay. He's not worth you doing anything stupid over. Come on, I'll get my things. Let's go home."

Bing and Darcy were standing guard over the door when it opened, Fitz not far away. Lizzie was the first to leave, jaw tight, eyes straight ahead. She couldn't help but meet Darcy's eye briefly as she went by, even though the last thing she wanted him to see was what not believing him might have done to her family.

"Jane?" Bing called when Jane came into the hall. She paused at the softness in his voice, "Is everything alright?"

"I don't know. George Wickham and Lydia have been, we'll just call it talking," she told them, paying attention to how Darcy took the news. "He's been saying the same things to Lydia that he said when he was trying to get with Lizzie. We just need to go home and talk to Lydia and make sure that nothing's happening and that she's alright."

"If there is anything I can do..."

"It's okay. We'll figure it out."

While Bing watched Jane leave Fitz made his way over to Darcy. "What do you think of that?"

The taller man didn't say anything. Of course, with Fitz he didn't have to. He knew. They both did. After all, with regards to George Wickham, there was really only one thing that could come next.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: I'm going to be honest. This part mostly happened because I wanted an excuse to have Fitz tease Darcy.


	14. Blame Game

Disclaimer: please see previous sections for repeated assurances that I don't own this.

Author's Note: Another huge thank you for all the feedback, favourites and follows. I had thought that there was only going to be one more chapter after this. That thought is quickly being erased. I'll keep you posted.

Until then, please keep those reviews coming!

The Netherfield Effect.

14. Blame Game

As Netherfield faded in the rearview mirror, Lizzie could feel her breathing coming easier. She was worried. She was worried about Lydia. She knew her sister and she could imagine the logic that had occurred to allow her to get into the situation she was presently facing. She was a strong willed woman, no one would doubt that about the youngest Bennet. And so far in life she had been lucky. So, faced with the potential rollercoaster that was navigating George Wickham without putting herself at risk, Lizzie could see Lydia jumping at the chance to triumph where other women had failed.

Jane was on edge as she drove, trying to come to terms with the truths that she had heard that day. And amongst all the new information that she wa processing, there was something in the back of her mind that she was still dwelling upon. "Lizzie, did you sleep with Darcy?"

"Jane..."

"I'm not judging, I just worry about you and I want you to be safe. I know you care about him."

"I know I do, Jane. And I didn't, not the way you're thinking at least. But I can't focus on him and that right now."

Jane nodded, frowning at the remembrance of what was ahead of them. "Do you really think that Lydia would go after a guy that you dated?"

"Not seriously. She probably views it as a game. But if he could convince Darcy that he was his friend for so long and make Gigi fall in love with him and turn her away from her family... I can only imagine what he could manipulate Lydia into doing without her being aware."

"You need to give her more credit."

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "She called him sweet, Jane. Even after seeing the letter, and watching my videos, she called him sweet."

"She saw the letter?"

"She had it open in her hands when I caught her."

Jane's confusion grew. "Did she read it?"

"Obviously not. I should have made her read it."

It was often hard for Jane to stand between two very strong-willed and stubborn sisters - so alike in different ways. She had gotten used to stepping back to allow them to shine, waiting in the wings to support them as they soared, ready, however hoping it would never happen, if they fell. She knew that she had allowed that to define her. But in moments like these, moments when they did need her, Jane could never second guess the way she was. And she could never imagine being any other way.

"Lizzie," Jane tried to assure her, "This isn't your fault."

"Maybe. I just keep thinking that if I hadn't of exposed his lies on the damn internet he wouldn't have gone after her."

"But would he have just continued to go after you? Because of Darcy?"

"I really hate that guy. And I can't help wondering how bad things might have been if..." she couldn't finish that thought, her mind going back to the little sister of someone else who had been used by the same man. How crushed she imagined her to be, and how broken her brother had been because he couldn't have saved her in time.

"But we know and we can talk to Lydia about it." A hint of a smile ghosted her expression. Lizzie had dubbed it Jane's face of hope against all odds. "But first, I think we need to make a pit stop."

"Groceries?" She asked when they pulled into the parking lot.

"Lydia's going to be hung over and rightfully upset about our invasion of her privacy." Jane reminded her younger sister, who seemed one step behind.

"Ah, provisions to butter her up to ease the blow. I like the way you think."

"Well there is a reason I'm the eldest sister."

"And here I thought it was just because you were born first. But I'm glad that you're more than just a pretty face."

~*~LBD~*~

They had to be fast. Soon Lydia would be awake and both knew that there was only a small window in which they could influence their baby sister before her hangover took over. The girls separated to tackle the different isles, coming together in the frozen food section loaded up with a good mix of comfort and hangover food, all their favourites. They just needed one last item. Ice cream cake. The sure fire way to ease their baby sister's potential wrathful mood. It was there, when they had to turn right that Jane spotted him, just to the left, talking to a girl by the frozen pizzas. George Wickham.

Her breath caught when she noticed him, a heartbeat before her sister, and she grabbed Lizzie's arm as she tried to steer her away before the younger woman saw the current bane of her existence.

"So, what kind of cake should we get..."

Lizzie pulled her to a stop at the sound of his laughter from behind them. And Jane knew that she hadn't been quick enough. "That son of a bitch."

"Lizzie, no. Don't." She looked around when Lizzie broke away from her and turned on her heel, she was too late to stop Lizzie from confronting the man that hadn't known when to leave her family alone. Abandoning their supplies, Jane moved after the Bennet sister whose temper was currently living up to her hair colour.

"Hey," Lizzie called, closing in on Wickham, "What the hell!" She stopped between George and the woman that Lizzie recognized as having gone to school with Lydia... What was her name? 'Something' King maybe, not that it mattered, she knew as she focused on her. "Whatever he tells you, don't believe it."

"What are you doing?" He hissed, jaw clenched, looking around to see who was watching.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" She shot at him, not taking her eyes off the girl. "He got my best friend pregnant and left her. The scum bag. He won't even acknowledge his own son, little Pedro. And, then, he tried to sleep with me! Can you believe the guy? Run. Run away while you can."

"Well done," George almost spat when it was just the two of them, the other woman spewing glaring at him as she left. Arms crossed and his smile grim, he leaned against the freezer door, giving her his full attention. "Dirty, but well done."

"Well it's no sexting with my baby sister, but I thought you would appreciate the sentiment."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not what you think..."

"Do you really think I'm that dumb? That I wouldn't figure out your little game? And for what? All because I didn't blindly believe you and take your side without checking the facts?"

He straightened, towering over her, "You know, you were a lot more fun before you climbed up on your high horse. You're no better than him, you know that."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Oh, come on. He's a selfish, arrogant, rich kid who thinks he's better than the rest of us."

"And you're a selfish prick who doesn't know when to let the past go. Or, just when to go. You're done. And you better leave my baby sister alone."

He smiled at her, giving a casual shrug as he looked around again. "And what if she doesn't want to leave me alone?"

She wanted to hit him. Her fists tightened by her sides as she swallowed back the slur of insults that she wanted to unleash despite knowing it would only make things worse. "I mean it George, do not go near her."

"Or what? You'll stick your boyfriend on me?" He laughed, "If you think Darcy actually cares about you, about anyone like us, you are more naive than I thought you were."

She felt dirty at his comment, even as it played at her own insecurities. "I am nothing like you. And if I find out that you talked to her in person, on the phone or over the internet, you'll wish Darcy was all you had to worry about. Because no one hurts my little sister."

They were staring at one another despite their height difference, her not backing down even though he was taller, broader and stronger than she was. She was too angry to be think about anything beyond hating him. From where she stood, Jane was worried that words would soon not be enough to pacify her sister. Their raised voices had attracted a crowd. Seeing security gathering nearby, the older sibling took a tentative step forward.

"Come on, Lizzie. We should go. He isn't worth this."

In slow movements Jane grasped Lizzie's wrist and pulled her away from the tall man that had once charmed both of them. Now that the spell was broken, it left a bad taste in both their mouths.

"Give your sister my best," George called as they walked away, and it took everything Jane had to keep Lizzie from turning around.

~*~LBD~*~

Lydia awoke to the sun shining into her window, a pounding headache and a want to be sick, and the sounds of her sisters arguing just outside her door. Closing her eyes against the light, and moving slowly as to not run into anything or feel the world shift anymore than it already was. Sometimes she hated being so damned curious.

"You're upset," Jane was saying, trying to remain calm. Lydia could tell from the other side of the door that Lizzie was pacing, and Jane probably had her arms crossed, a worried expression on her face. Lydia had told her she shouldn't worry so much. It caused wrinkles. Jane's reply had been that with sisters like hers wrinkles were the least of her concerns.

"No," Lizzie corrected, "I'm pissed."

Lydia could almost hear Jane roll her eyes, "Which is why I think I should do the talking."

Tired and growing more grouchy with every painful breath, Lydia threw open her door. "What are you two fighting about?" She demanded, flinching at the sound of her own voice.

Her older siblings exchanged guilty looks before Lizzie, with arms crossed, still miffed, gestured to Jane, silently telling her to go ahead.

Jane smiled, her uncertainty showing through, "Hey, I found your phone!..."

To say that Lydia took the news that they knew she was communicating with Wickham well would be a gross overstatement. To say she took finding out how they had discovered the connection badly was just as much of a lie. There were more fighting, insults and accusations hurled back and forth between the siblings than that house had seen since they were all going through puberty.

It ended with Jane near tears, feeling as though she had failed; Lydia storming out of the house in what she had woken up in, swearing that she would never forgive either of them and Lizzie feeling lost in the middle. In the aftermath of the Bennet warzone, with comforting Jane and asking Mary to look after Lydia, and their mother lamenting on needing something for her head, and having filmed a video about it all, Lizzie knew that she needed to get away. She figured that she could use a little comfort of her own.

That's when she noticed her phone. At some point in the chaos that had been the day, Darcy had sent her a text.

'If there is anything I can do, it would be a pleasure to be there for you.'

She quirked a tired smile despite herself as she mused about his formal writing style. It fit with the reserve that she had come to identify with him. It was a reserve that she had almost expected when he kissed her. She was pleased to find that that was where his reserve ended and the passion that she had found in their verbal confrontations had existed in this exchange as well. There was much about him that surprised her. And there was much about him that she felt the need to discover.

Her fingers tracing her lips, she dialed the strange number. He picked up almost right away. "Hey," she began, suddenly feeling uncomfortable, "Can we meet up somewhere to talk?"

~*~LBD~*~

It seemed right that they meet there. It was one of two places she had come to identify with him. And since she didn't feel comfortable going into the library at Netherfield, Look-out Point would have to do.

He had offered to come and pick her up at her house, but she had declined. Jane was still upset and determined she was going to stay there until she knew that Lydia was alright, despite having heard from Mary that Lydia was safe and with her. So with her being thus confined, Bing was coming over to spend the evening with her, keeping her company while she worried. And their mother was in a panic of biblical proportions: first complaining about the fighting and how it was stressing her out and how Mrs. Long told her that stress shortened lives; and then after finding out that Bing was coming over, she had forgotten about almost everything else in the world, frantically cleaning the already tidy house, as she whipped up cookies to make him feel at home.

Not wanting to bring him into that, and not wanting to stay there more than she had to, Lizzie figured that the walk to the peak would do her good. Jane had been supportive about her going out, knowing that there was no reason for both of them to wait at home for their baby sister who was most likely not even coming back that evening.

So Lizzie wrapped herself against the chill in the night air and walked, reaching the point just as the sun was beginning to set.

Darcy was right on time. He was silent as he sat on the bench she had flopped herself into, and watched as the sun sank below the horizon. It was only once the stars began to come out that he asked her how she was.

She laughed. She supposed she couldn't help it. It was the only reaction she had left where the situation was concerned. She assured him that it'll be in her next video. He said that he would rather hear it from her now. So she told him what happened. She told him about waking up and Mary's text calling her home and Lydia telling her about George and her hacking her sister's twitter and phone and confronting George and then trying to talk to Lydia only to have her become indignant and turn away.

"Not that I blame her," she confessed leaning back and into him, "After all, I broke her trust. I invaded her privacy instead of just talking to her."

"You did it to protect her."

"Some great job I did there. I'm no good at being a big sister."

He took a deep breath, weighing his words, "Consider this. While you did invade her privacy to prevent her from getting hurt, you can take some comfort in the fact that you didn't pay off her boyfriend to leave her before her eyes, which directly led to her getting hurt and not speaking to you for months."

"Your sister would have gotten hurt anyway." Lizzie assured him before allowing herself to smile, knowing that hers would have too. Damn, he was good. "You win. You are definitely the worse older sibling."

He grinned, pleased to have made her frown disappear, "Thank you. I think that I have rightfully earned that title."

"As long as I can be the runner up."

"For now," he allowed, "But only until my sister starts dating again." He paused, watching her as she turned her attention to the stars. "Lizzie, while you might not have used the best means to do so, you did do the right thing. Wickham is trouble."

"I know that, now. I almost punched him today, right in his big, stupid, smiling face."

He smiled before he could help himself. "I would have liked to have seen that."

"But why go after Lydia? There was nothing he could get from her besides probably sex. Why put in all that work if it was just to get back at me?"

He shrugged, leaning forward, elbows on knees, fingers interlaced. "I believe his original plan, after discovering your videos, was most likely to use you to get back at me. When you thwarted his efforts on that front, and publicly outed him, he turned his attentions to Lydia. Hurting her, even trying to turn her against you, he knew, would not only cause pain to you, but also, through that association..."

"Cause pain to you as well." She finished, watching him avoiding looking at her as she said the words he could not.

He glanced over, meeting her eyes. "Exactly."

"Good planner," she allowed, looking away. "Think that's it? Think he's gone now?"

He straightened, running his hands over his pant legs, "Yes. I will make sure of it."

"Wait," she reached out, her hand grabbing his arm as though she were stopping him from leaving even though they were both aware that he was right where he wanted to be. "I can't let you throw money at him. Not for me."

"Lizzie, I hope you are aware by now that there is nothing I wouldn't do to protect those I care about. It is only money."

"Only money? Only a lot of money."

"My mother always taught my sister and I that money has no value without having people in our lives to share it with."

She looked away from him. She swallowed back the growing lump in her throat, and allowed her hand to fall back into her own lap. He had just admitted to her twice that he liked her without actually saying the words to her. But she supposed that he had already admitted to her that he had problems putting his feelings into words not on paper.

"I still don't feel right, letting you handle something that I started."

"We have already established that this feud has been going on since before either he or I entered your life. Therefore, it is up to me to end things as they should have been ended long ago."

There was a determination in his expression and voice that she couldn't argue with, that she found herself not wanting to argue with. "Okay then. Thank you."

He sighed, while closer than before, this still wasn't how he had wanted things with her to go. "There is nothing to thank me for."

There was coldness from where his arm had been against hers when she stood. It had felt good to be beside him. She held felt safe and brave and strong and protected and as though she was exactly where she was meant to be.

But a part of her was afraid, a part that was growing strong with the truth of her emotions that were quickly figuring themselves out. Too quickly for her liking.

Lizzie had spent her entire life around marriages that she didn't understand. Marriages she didn't think should have lasted. She had devised in her mind a love that she had wanted for herself. It was a love that was built on respect. A love that bettered you and changed you in ways that you didn't know you could be changed. It was a love that she had always half-thought couldn't exist for someone as analytical and cynical as she was.

And then she had gotten to know Darcy. And now she could see that love within reach at the same time as she still felt it worlds away. They were so very different despite also being so much the same.

Here was a man whose money could solve problems, he could pay off her loans and demons and future hopes without blinking, without a second thought. He wasn't held back. He was from a world seemingly without limits. And while he said he cared about her, and while she believed he hadn't lied about that, she wondered at how long those feelings could last? How serious could he be about someone who was more like Wickham than she would like to admit?

"Come on," he said after allowing her to settle into these thoughts for far too long, "Let me take you home."

She nodded, frowning as his hand settled at the small of her back as he walked her to the car. She knew that it was too late for her to doubt. It was too late for her second guess and too late to stop herself. She had gone too far. She knew that there was only thing left for her to do, hope that he would be there with her, and failing that, that she could count on her sisters to help cushion her fall.

~*~TBC~*~


	15. Falling in Conversations

Disclaimer: I own a computer, and a pony and a sword. Nothing else worth mentioning.

Author's Note: This is the last of the drama. Promise. After this is the love.

Please leave a review, it'll make my day.

The Netherfield Effect.

15. Falling In Conversations

Netherfield was quiet when Darcy returned from dropping Lizzie off. It was still early, but the place was all but deserted. The rest of Bing's family had gone, Caroline returning with a cousin to L.A., so that Fitz was the only one still there.

He looked up from his computer when Darcy joined him, his sleeves rolled up and tie missing. He was tired, not that Fitz could blame him. "Bing still at Jane's?" Fitz asked.

Darcy nodded, leaning back into the soft support of the plush chair. "His car was when I dropped Lizzie off."

"And how is Lizzie B?"

"She will be fine. They will all be better when Wickham is no longer in the area."

"You know, if it was for anyone else, I would feel like I was being used for having been left here to do all the dirty work while you and Bing were out wooing your ladies. But luckily for you, I am above all that."

"Brandon's away for the weekend?" Darcy asked knowingly.

"That too. So I did what you asked. I tracked the jack ass down, and got the fax from the lawyers with the final working of all the paperwork to your specifications. Your accountant was also sent a copy, and arrangements on that end have been made. The only thing left is for me to ask if you're sure you want to do this?" Fitz asked, handing the documents over.

"What else would you suggest?"

"You already know what I suggested you do to the guy."

"Yes and your suggestions, I believe, are all still considered illegal." He paused, "And Gigi?"

"Knows and wants to help, just like you thought. I told her that you wouldn't want her involved."

"And what did she convince you to do?"

"I'd feel safer telling you about that after the fact."

He sighed, not liking that his sister was going to involve herself no matter what he could say on the matter. "Fair enough. So he is where I said he was?"

"Yep. Set to check out tomorrow. Going there now?"

"Best to get it out of the way." He paused midway through getting up only to settle back and focus on the man that had always been like family to him. "Thank you. I know that this was not how you wanted to spend your weekend."

"Hey, man, I got your back. You know that. I just hope she's worth it." He didn't need to see the look Darcy gave him to know that he believed she was. "What is she going to say when she finds out what you did?"

"She knows that I am handling the situation. I don't think that details would be entirely helpful. I do not want her to think that I am trying to buy her affections."

"While wearing $5000 boxer shorts and being pretentious? Yeah, I saw that video. But Darce, that was months ago. Surely, her opinion of you has changed. You told her you like her, didn't you?"

He fidgeted, "She is aware that I have feelings for her."

"Darcy..."

"I don't _merely_ like her, Fitz."

They were quiet a moment. "I know that. Question is, does she?"

Darcy didn't say a word as he got up, papers in a tight grip that was reflected in every muscle as he moved to the door. And Fitz knew that he hadn't told her the depth of his feelings.

"No regrets," he called after his friend.

"Please stay out of this," Darcy almost sighed from the doorway, eying his friend carefully.

Fitz held up his hands in surrender, waiting until the taller man left before he shook his head.

He couldn't remember the first time he had met Darcy, they had been too young at the time of their introduction. All he knew for certain was that in some way, Darcy was always a presence in his life, their mothers having been friends in school. And over the years he had come to view Darcy as a brother. He had come to look after the younger man as a brother. Fitz had taken him under his wing and looked after him during the most trying times of his life. They had watched each other's backs over the years and over their own hurdles into manhood.

Darcy had been the first person that Fitz came out of the closet to. Darcy had just tucked his chin in closer to his neck and asked if he was pretty. That was it. No questions. No judgments. Just acceptance. Just a friendship that had helped him through the roughest time of his life as he fought to love himself for what so many people in the world hated.

He would do anything for Darcy. He would do anything for the friend that had placed his happiness above everything else. When Darcy had first met Brandon, Darcy had taken on the role of big brother. He had asked Brandon about his intentions, and assured him the consequences of hurting Fitz. So it was all Fitz could hope to do now to ensure Darcy the same. He wanted to see him happy and loved as he deserved to be loved. He would do everything in his power to make sure it happened. Even if it meant breaking a promise and sticking his nose in where it didn't belong.

After all, what else were friends for.

~*~LBD~*~

Gigi knew she shouldn't have been surprised when Fitz had called her and explained why he and Darcy weren't back as they had originally planned. She had seen enough from Lizzie's videos to have some idea of the possibility of _him_ coming back into all of their lives. George Wickham.

It felt like a knife through the heart. Hearing his name and knowing the pain that the man attached to it brought hurt as much as it did when he had walked out of her door and later onto those videos as though Gigi hadn't meant anything to him.

She supposed that she hadn't. She was the means to an end, although there was little comfort in knowing that now.

But that was the thing. She knew. She knew what it was like. She understood more than anyone what he was capable of doing, of how much pain he could inflict with seemingly so little effort and no notion that it was coming. She knew better than anyone where Lydia could have been if things had gone differently.

"Get me her number." She had told Fitz without even considering thinking it over.

"Gigi," he had come back with the tone that reminded her that he was just as protective of her as her own brother. "I don't think that's a good idea. Your brother does not want you to get involved."

She didn't say anything. She knew she didn't have to.

"Gigi..." she could hear his resolve breaking. She counted until 5 when she knew she had him. "Fine. But for the record, I don't like this."

"I love you, Fitz."

"You better, because when your brother finds out, you might be my only friend left in the world." He had hung up, texting the contact number not ten minutes later. She didn't ask how he got it. She supposed that since he would not likely ask Darcy he had either gone through Lizzie or Jane via Bing. Either way, he had come through for her and now it was her turn to come through for someone else.

"Go for Lydia," the youngest Bennet answered almost right away. She didn't sound as animated as Gigi had anticipated from watching her sister's videos. In part she sounded tired, or suspicious or even angry. Not that Gigi could blame her for any or all of those emotions.

Until that moment, however, she had forgotten that she would be expected to say something. She really had to start thinking things through. "Um Hi. My name is Gigi. And I know that you don't know me, but I wanted to talk to you."

There was shuffling as the girl on the other end moved position. "Gigi? What kind of name is Gigi? Who _are_ you?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. This was not going particularly well at all. "Gigi is short for Georgiana. I'm William Darcy's sister."

There was a pause. "Oh. What do you want?"

"I just thought it would be nice to talk considering what we have in common."

"Darcy?"

"No... George Wickham." Yes, she thought, fingers squeezing the bridge of her nose, this could be going worlds better.

"Look, fem-Darce, I'm sure you mean well, but nothing serious was going to happen. Wicks and me were just having fun. I don't know why you and Darcy and my sisters are making such a big deal about this. He totally wasn't going to hurt me."

"He just thought you were special and easy to talk to and unlike anyone else?" There was a pause on the other end that let her know that he had said some of those very things to the youngest Bennet sister. They were the same things that he had said to Gigi not very long ago. "You know, I thought that same thing about him. I thought that he was this guy who was everything that I never knew could look at me like that. Like I was different and special and the center of his attention. That I was worth... well, everything." She swallowed back the memories that still haunted her, trying to look past the dull aching in her chest that still remained when she thought of those days. "Look, no pressure, but I just thought that it would help both of us to talk. Just you and me, no older siblings involved. I'd like to tell you about my history with him, so you can make up your own mind."

On the other end she could hear Lydia's hesitation and she couldn't help but wonder what she would decide. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath until she released it when Lydia tentatively agreed. An hour and a few shed tears later, they were off the phone and for her part, Gigi felt a world better. Not only did she think she shed light on Lydia's perspective of the man, but she had also helped herself do the same.

Some times it took trying to save someone from heartbreak to finally deal with your own.

~*~LBD~*~

George Wickham had always liked quiet bars where the focus was on drinking and watching sports and conversing rather than loud music, flashing lights and dancing. There was a calm in these places that suited him in the moments when he needed to regroup. When he needed to think.

It was something that he and his oldest friend had shared. At one time the blond could have imagined them years into the future, ordering a bottle of the best scotch, finding a corner away from the center of the room and talking - debating - drawing the attentions of everyone in the room with charisma and charm offered by the one, and the sincerity and status of the other. But that was a life that wouldn't happen now. They were both too far changed since the time when they last saw eye-to-eye, back when they were more boys than men.

Since then he had stopped sitting at tables in the corner. These days he preferred sitting at the bar.

He should have been surprised when the tumbler of scotch (served neat of course) slid in front of him. From the smell wafting from the double-poured glass he guessed that it cost more than his entire bartab for the night. But then again, if anyone could find him, it would have been Darcy. They knew each other too well for him to think otherwise.

He picked up the glass, looking at the amber liquid as it glimmered in the overhead lights, a smile of remembrance on his lips. He inhaled the single malt's aroma deeply. He was right, this was the good stuff - probably a Dalmore.

"You know," he began when Darcy sat down next to him, a glass in hand, "I remember the first time we got drunk. It was on this stuff, when our dads were out of town... where'd they go?"

"Tokyo. You were fifteen."

"Good times," he said, taking a slow sip, savouring the liquid as he would the taste of a woman he could never forget.

An eyebrow rose. "You were not the one who had to explain to my father what happened to his prized scotch or why his antique Persian rug was stained when neither of us proved capable of holding our liquor."

Wickham laughed, not surprised when Darcy did not. "When you think back to those days, is this where you thought we'd end up? On opposite sides of the 'economic divide'. Or did you always know that your family's wealth would be what tore us apart?"

Darcy shook his head, a sour smile littering his lips briefly. "Wealth had nothing to do with it. You did." He straightened. "I had thought of you as a brother."

Wickham set down the glass and turned to look at the dark haired man who had yet look at him. "Brothers don't toss each other aside over money."

He shrugged, his movements growing stiff. "Nor do they play with hearts of young women for revenge." He sighed. "Speaking of money, I take it you have used what was last given to you. Thirty thousand dollars within a few months, I wish I could call that a record for you."

"So how much will it be this time?" George shrugged, lips pouting in contemplation of his success once again in molding the unfair world to his wants. He brought the tumbler to his lips again. "I wonder how much that skirt is worth to you, Willy. Considering you have to add her sister into the mix there." He started to laugh, "I have to tell you, though. You made quite the bargain with that Lizzie. If she does everything else like she kisses, she's going to be one to keep in your wallet."

The tightening of his jaw was the only hint that Darcy had registered Wickham's comment. "I'm not going to give you any money this time." He confessed taking a drink. He fought the smirk at Wickham's confusion as he took two sets of folded paperwork from the breast pocket of his suit. He set the thicker bundle on the bar between them, "I'm just not going to sue you."

"Sue me?" He laughed, growing uncertain, a mixture of nerves and injury, "For what?"

"Slander. My lawyers tell me that I have a case. There are more than one witness to your lies about what happened with your education and trust. And I have been told that due to these fabrications of the truth, my name and reputation might have been compromised. They have advised me that for someone of my profile, this is not something that I should stand for." He paused. "I tend to agree."

Wickham shook his head, not willing to believe what he was hearing. "No. You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't get anything from suing me. I have nothing. "

"Yes, I have been made aware of your gambling debts. But luckily one can get more than one thing from a lawsuit. And I have no need for more money. What I want, is for you to go very far away from anyone I care about. You will not step foot in my life again." His tone was determined. It was not the tone of a man uncertain, or not used to getting what he wanted. It was that of a man who would not take take no for an answer. The tone of a man who had been pushed too far.

George shifted on his bar stool, uncomfortable in the turn of the other man's continence. He tried to shake it off. He was never one to allow Darcy to win easily. "Wow, that girl has you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"

"I am not an unfair man," Darcy continued, gaining confidence along with his determination. "I have with me a deal that I think you should consider." He unfolded the papers and set them before the blond one by one. "You will sign this non-disclosure agreement, keeping you from talking about your dealings with my family. _All_ your dealings with my family. Next, a contract stipulating that you will leave the state."

Wickham's jaw clenched, feeling himself backing into a corner. "Nope. I have a job here. I need to make a living since you're more generous to strangers than those you once considered family."

He took out the other set of folded documents, "I have contacts in schools and organizations throughout Central America. They have looked into it and it appears that there is a desperate need for swim coaches there. And I believe that you have always excelled at Spanish." He set another another paper down. "Here is the paperwork needed to complete the transfer of positions. You will find the pay generous, I believe, and the dates arranged so that you will be able to make your arrangements here without having a disruption in your income. Here is one-way, direct flight ticket, first class of course and a notarization that your accommodations will be arranged upon your arrival and the costs of which provided for, by me, for your first six months while you get settled."

Darcy took a deep breath, his attention going from his former friend, his father's favourite scotch and the paperwork that Fitz had overseen. Growing up he and George had played chess often and while George had been good at it, he never took to it the way Darcy did. And now here, in this, their final game, he was ready to go in for the king.

"In addition to all this, I will personally clear your debts here." He took a sip of scotch. "I am offering you a fresh start. That is not something you are likely to be given again, and not by me. And I assure you, that if you do not take what I am offering you now, my lawyers will not be so kind to you as I have once been."

His body relaxed, all his pieces on the board, Darcy took out his pen, heavy and silver and a mix of art and office supplies. For the first time since sitting down, their eyes met, and Darcy knows that George is sizing him up. But Darcy doesn't flinch, nor does he look away. He knows himself. He knows Wickham. And he knows that his old friend is well aware of the checkmate staring him in the face.  
Taking the pen in hand, George looked down at the spread of paperwork before him. He laughed despite not finding humor in the moment. He sighed, tsking under his breath. "And she said that she wouldn't throw you at me."

"She didn't." Darcy assured him. Both aware of whom he had been referring to. "This, you can only blame yourself for."

"Right." He said even as he signed. "I gotta tell you, Willy, I was right about you and her, you really are made for each other."

"I'm sure you did not mean that as a compliment."

"True, not that she fought it." Jaw tight, almost resigned, he slid the signed papers back towards his former friend, accepting the ticket and transfer forms in their place. Standing, he drank down the rest of the tumbler, wincing at the burning against his throat. "So I guess that's it, the end of an era. I'd say it's been fun and that I'd see you around, but we both know that'd be a lie."

"Then let us settle for goodbye." Darcy watched him go, feeling closure that he had never felt before. Even though he had left Darcy with his bill, George was gone. And this time, it was for good. He had checked the signatures, just to be sure. Satisfied, he placed them back in his suit pocket, next to his heart. He looked at the empty seat beside him, conflicted. While pleased that he was gone, and hating him with such depth that it had taken all his strength of character and manners to not strangle him on sight, he was also grateful for this last conversation.

George had given him hope. He had said that Lizzie didn't argue that they were meant to be.

~*~TBC~*~

A/N: The end of this fic isn't coming together as quickly/easily as the rest of it has. My apologies that there is going to be more of a delay in posting the remaining parts than what I'm used to.


	16. Planning the Future

Disclaimer: insert generic disclaimer here.

Author's Note: Here is the lead up, and I'm sorry about the delay with this chapter, there was a serious case of writers block.

Thank you for everyone who has left a review already. Please make my day by keeping them coming. I dare you!

The Netherfield Effect.

16. Planning the Future.

Fitz stood in the doorway to the lounge when he heard Darcy come back to Netherfield. He watched with hands in his pockets, leaning against the doorframe, frowning at the tired expression on his friend's face. He briefly wondered if Darcy had stayed to drink. After all, it had been a very long day that had followed a mostly sleepless night. But it was over now. At least he could only hope.

"How did it go?"

Darcy looked up, only noticing Fitz for the first time. He pulled the papers from his pocket. "It is done."

Fitz took the offered papers, "I'll hand deliver these to the office tomorrow."

"Still planning on flying out in the morning?"

"That I am, because unlike some people, I can't take multiple weeks away from the office." He smiled when Darcy rose his eyebrow, "Hey, smile. This time Monday he'll be legally obliged to carry through with these arrangements. Good job, by the way."

"Thank you." He paused, hand in hair, "Have you heard from my sister? She texted while I was at the bar but I have yet to respond."

Fitz nodded, growing uncomfortable. "She called me. And she's going to be okay. She... she called Lydia."

He didn't seem surprised. All-in-all, there were worse ways she could have become involved. "Should I ask how she got her contact information?"

"I don't think that's necessary. Point is that it helped. Gigi thinks that Lydia now has a better understanding of who he was, which can only help. So that is one less Bennet sister to worry about. And as Bing just got home from being with Jane, that just leaves one..."

"Fitz," Darcy began wearily. He was too tired to deal with this. "I have asked you not to intrude on this matter."

"Asking you a question is hardly intruding. I'm just here to check on your game."

"Goodnight, Fitz."

Shaking his head, Fitz watched Darcy head to his room. "And that's what I thought."

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie dreamt of Darcy. She had never dreamt of a man before, not one she knew, and not the kind of dreams like the one she had just had. It was nothing pornographic, but it was intense in a way that overwhelmed her, even in sleep. She knew enough about psychology to know that it could be classified as wish fulfillment. In her dream he had said that he loved her. In her dream their differences didn't matter. His money didn't matter. Her mother didn't matter. His company and her degree didn't matter. They were of the same world.

In the moments while she was being dragged from her dream into reality before knowing why, she felt loss seeping into her heart as this possibility slipped away from her fingers. In the waking world the possibility of their being together didn't seem plausible. It made her long for sleep and damn whatever it was that was waking her up.

It was her phone. She really needed to start turning it off at night. She blindly groped for it with a groan.

"Hello?" She greeted as much into her pillow as into the receiver.

"Well rise and shine, Lizzie B." Fitz said with too much cheer.

She sat up, already worlds more awake although still mourning the dream that was quickly growing harder to remember the feelings of. "Hey, sorry about that. What's going on?"

"I'm at the airport waiting to get home to the whole job and bf thing. But I didn't want to go without saying goodbye to you, any way I could."

She smiled, "I'm going to miss you. Too bad you couldn't have stayed longer. Is it just..." she paused, wondering if she wanted to know the answer to the question that she feared asking. Her chest had tightened at the mention of Fitz leaving. Not because of him, per se, but rather because of who else might be going with him.

"Darcy's staying." He put in with a knowing smile that she could hear through the phone. He cleared his throat as she rolled her eyes. "Lizzie, remember our first conversation when I told you I wouldn't be butting into whatever it was that's going on between you and he?"

She fought her smile, "I do."

"Well I lied. There are some things that I think you need to know."

"Oh?"

"Last night Darcy saw George Wickham."

Lizzie suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Fitz, I don't need to know how much it took to make him go away this time. I don't want to know how much I owe him..."

"Nothing. Lizzie, he didn't buy Wickham off. Before, with his sister, he wasn't thinking. He just acted. He did what he needed to do to get the bastard away from her ASAP. This time, he knew that he needed to make sure he stayed away."

Her throat tightened, picturing Darcy having to sit down with Wickham to work out whatever deal it was that would keep him away. She could only imagine what he had felt during that conversation, that negotiation. Her heart, though not really her own, went out to him.

"Darcy is stubborn," he went on, his mind changing gears. "And he isn't rash in his decisions. He's like a one-man jury. He takes his time, he gathers all the facts and information and makes an informed decision. If there is any doubts, then he won't act. Not on the important things.

"Which is good because once he makes up his mind, once his heart is decided, he's not the type to be persuaded otherwise. He's constant."

"Like when he decides to hate something." She put in, remembering the late night conversation in the kitchen at Netherfield with ice cream, honesty and bare feet.

"Like when he loves," Fitz corrected. "Once he loves someone it's for life. It's something that he will fight for and put first, always. It's not something to be taken lightly."

She swallowed back the growing lump in her chest, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because he deserves a woman who will love him in kind. Not for what he has, but for who he is."

"Is this your way of telling me to stay away from him?"

"No. I'm telling you that he wouldn't fall in love with someone he felt was beneath him. He wouldn't fall in love with someone who wouldn't make him better and wouldn't be able to meet him in every capacity and fight alongside him to stay with him.

"I'm not saying that being with him would be easy, you know what he's like and you should really meet his aunt, but it's worth it."

She found herself smiling. "It almost sounds like you want to be that person."

"God no. He's not my type. Besides, my place is watching his back. It's someone else's to stand by his side. That being said, if she plays with his heart, I'll kick her ass, no matter how much I like her videos."

She blushed, "Goodbye Fitz. Safe flight."

"Have a good day, and I'm sure I'll see you around."

Lizzie leaned against the wall, looking at her phone, a smile sitting on her face. She had to hand it to Fitz. He was as subtle as a cement truck in a china shop, but he certainly got his point across.

There was a soft knock on her door. It was Lydia, standing sheepishly in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. "Hey, I heard you on the phone. Is this a bad time?"

"No," she assured her, gesturing for her sister to join her on the bed, "Not at all. Did you just get home?"

"Yeah, I spent the night at Mary's. It was good. I- uh- I talked to Darcy's sister."

"Jane said Fitz called looking for it. Was it a good talk?"

She nodded, "Yeah. She seems like a totes cool chick. Not at all what I expected for a fem-Darcy. But talking to her was good. I learned a lot."

Lizzie put an arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm sorry about what I did. I shouldn't have gone into your phone and twitter like that."

"It's okay, I've done it to you. And, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have gone after him."

"Yeah," Lizzie assured her, "I think we both learned that lesson."

Lydia quirked a smile, "We can totally do better. Well I can, I am the awesome. I think you'll have to settle for Darcy. Though a rich hottie isn't too bad, even if he is boring." She paused, leaning into her sister. "Thanks, you know, for looking out for me."

Lizzie's expression brightened. "Hey, that's what big sister's are for."

"Yeah, I guess they're okay at times. Though, lets be fair, you still have a lot to learn before you're as cool as Jane."

Lizzie smiled, watching as Lydia left, heading to their older sister's room. It felt good to know that she was going to be okay.

~*~LBD~*~

Lizzie took a deep breath as she turned on her camera, trying to order her thoughts for what she was going to say. She had already said too much about Wickham and Lydia and was now pleased to think to talk about other things, even though that meant having to actually think of those other things.

While some people had therapy, and others had journals, Lizzie had her videos. Here was where she could go and say what she wanted and work out her problems and relive the best and worst moments in a way that allowed her to deal with them. They allowed her to capture the highlights, work through her problems and put the rest behind.

She took a steadying breath and dove in. First about Bing and Jane and how they were doing well and then about Charlotte. "So, Charlotte is doing great, not that that is a surprise. And I'm going to be visiting her in less than two weeks, before classes begin again. It will be nice to spend time with her. I've really missed her a lot. And there is a chance that I'll be to see a new friend while there. Fitz is going to be there doing something work related. It will be nice to see him again. And Darcy..." she fell silent, not sure what to say about him.

There was a knock on the door. Relieved by the distraction from the dangerous path of her own thoughts, she was eager for the interruption. "Hey Jane," she greeted when her older sister came in, moving over so that she could sit beside her. "What's going on?"

Jane shyly looked between Lizzie and the camera, "I have something to tell you."

The hairs on the back of Lizzie's neck stood up. Was it something bad? Would she have to hate Bing? "Okay, what is it?"

"So last night while you were out and later after you went to bed, Bing and I were talking. About our future."

"Oh God. He proposed." She grabbed Jane's left hand, looking for a ring that wasn't there.

Jane's jaw fell slack, "You have been spending too much time around mom lately."

"I'm not going to argue that. So, what about the future?"

"I was offered a promotion at work."

"That's great!" Lizzie cried, pulling Jane into a hug, "That means more money, right?"

"Some, yes. But it also means some changes."

"Changes?"

Jane nodded. "Classes are starting up soon and that means that Bing is going to be moving back to LA for the school year and... I'm going to be going with him."

Lizzie's jaw hung open. "What?"

"My new job is in LA and with Bing also being there, he thinks it's silly for me to find a place there since I'll probably be staying with him a lot anyway so..."

"You're moving in with him? Miss. Separate Bedrooms at Netherfield?"

"Aunt Phyllis lives in LA so technically I'll be staying with her, but yes, in a way we will be moving in eventually..." her smile filled in the rest for Lizzie.

"Wow. That's... wow. Soon. But, wow." She shakes her head, trying to sort out the various screaming thoughts in her head. "This is good. Right?"

Jane smiled, "I think it is."

"Then I am very happy for you. You do know that mom is going to freak out about this, don't you?"

Jane shared in her laugh, "I know. That's why we're waiting until tomorrow to tell her, and that's why we're doing this gradually. But, you're going to be okay? With me going away? I know how you are with change."

"I'm going to miss you, but yeah. You have to live your life. Besides, I'm going to be off visiting Charlotte soon anyway and then I'll be too busy with school to really focus on anything else. Don't worry about me. You just be happy."

"I will. And speaking of happy, Bing is taking me out tonight to celebrate the move. And since Darcy is still in town we were hoping that you and he would..."

Lizzie's smile fell. "Tag along?"

"I was going to say celebrate with us."

"There is less pity implied the way you say it." Lizzie fell silent, as all the doubts and fears about her own situation flooded her mind. How could Jane deal so easily with the divide between her and Bing? How could she not feel the difference in their contrasting backgrounds? It was true that Bing wasn't as well off as Darcy or from such a prestigious background... but the basis of comparison was more or less the same.

"If you don't want to come... I just thought that you'd like to see Darcy again before you left."

"It's not that. I do and I will be happy to come out tonight. I just... can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"How are you okay with Bing's wealth? I mean, he has so much and we grew up with not a lot. Are you okay with that? Is he? What if he tries to pay your loans or not let you contribute to the household finances? Would you be okay in not being viewed as an equal in that regards? As a charity case?"

"Lizzie, I'm not going to be a kept woman." She laughed. "Bing views me as his equal and..." she caught the worried look on her sister's face, "And this has nothing to do with me and Bing. Oh my God, Lizzie, you want a future with Darcy."

She shifted, uneasy with how quickly she had been discovered. "Maybe, I don't know. He's just and I... I don't know how it would work."

Jane shrugged. "With anyone you marry, your debts also become your husband's. That happens when two lives become one. How would a life with Darcy be any different?"

"Because with anyone else they would probably have debt too. And we would work our way out of it together. Equally."

"What if this other guy makes more money than you do? Would you still be equal?"

"It wouldn't be tens of thousands of dollars more, Jane."

"It's still the same concept. I know that Bing loves me. He wants to share his life with me. He wants to share his dreams and his future and his family with me. And I want to share mine with him. Money doesn't matter. It just makes sharing these things easier."

"I don't want him to think that he has to buy my affections. He doesn't need to give my family a cow to marry me. Its a custom in certain cultures." She added when she saw Jane's confused expression. "I've been doing some reading about it. Nevermind."

"Money doesn't make things magically easy," Jane reminded her little sister. "I am sure that you wouldn't like him if you thought that money was the only thing he could give you. So, let me ask you this: if you and he were to get involved and something happened and you broke up, what would you miss the most? The money, or him?" Squeezing Lizzie's hand, Jane got up to leave, knowing that Lizzie had a lot to think about.

"Hey," Lizzie called, "Where are we going tonight?"

"I don't know. Bing says it's going to be a surprise." Her smile widened, "It's going to be an adventure."

~*~TBC~*~


	17. The End

Disclaimer: I wish I could claim even a part of the genius that made these characters. As I can't, I won't, because I don't. Thank you for not suing me for bringing them out to play.

Author's Note: This is it for this story, at least for the foreseeable future. There might be a sequel at some point, but I'm not sure. I'll keep you posted.

Until then, please read and review (I would love to reach 100 reviews on this). Thank you to everyone who already left a review and to everyone who has stuck with me through the journey that was this alternate universe. This ending, which I hope lives up to expectations, is for you.

The Netherfield Effect.

17. The End.

Lizzie couldn't wait until that evening. She didn't want to have to wait to see him again. To see Darcy and to see if Fitz's warnings and his sister's hopes were in vain. She had to see if she was worrying about a future that could never happen. She had to know if what she felt really was love and she had to know if he maybe felt the same. She already knew that he cared, but caring was a long way from love. She should know, she's recently made that journey herself.

Inhaling a steadying breath, she dialed the number, praying that he would answer it quickly as much as she feared the same.

He answered on the third ring. "Lizzie?" He sounded groggy, like he had been woken up by her phone call.

She felt guilty, knowing that he probably hadn't had as much sleep as she had. She felt even guiltier for liking how he sounded upon first waking up.

"Is this a bad time?"

She could hear him shifting, sitting up. "No, it's fine." He cleared his throat, a low rumble that she heard over the phone. "It was just a late night."

"Yeah, I heard."

She could could picture his eyebrow raising. "I take it that you have talked to Fitz, then."

She found herself smiling. "He called to say goodbye before he left."

"I'm sure goodbye isn't all he said. I apologize if anything he said made you uncomfortable in..."

"Can I see you?" She butted in, needing to say the words before she lost her nerve.

"I assumed that I would be seeing you tonight."

"You are, I just, I wanted to see you. Sooner."

She thought she could hear the corners of his lips lifting, "Sooner?"

"Like now, sooner."

"That is sooner."

Was he teasing her again? Was he trying to make her say more over the phone than she felt comfortable with saying? "If you don't want to..."

It was his turn to cut her off. "No, sooner is good. Now is better. I could come pick you up in an hour, if you'd like."

"Or I could meet you at Netherfield before then," she offered, hopeful.

He was silent a moment. "Is your mother at home?" He asked almost knowingly.

"She might have seen you drop me off last night. Let's just say that she is quickly getting ideas that I'm not comfortable with her having yet."

"Netherfield is fine," he told her, finding it hard to form words. She had said yet. "I believe Bing is going out, but I will be here whenever you arrive."

"Soon," she reminded him, "I'll be arriving soon."

"Then I suppose I should go and shower before you arrive."

She wanted to tell him that not to rush on her behalf, but didn't. She couldn't. Not yet. Yet. She hung up with a smile, needing, herself, to get ready.

~*~LBD~*~

Half an hour later she pulled up to Netherfield. And for the first time she didn't feel like she was going to her death. A part of her felt she was going to something much, much worse. What if he didn't feel the same? What if everyone had been wrong? What if he was just playing with her? What if he was no better than George Wickham.

She stopped at that thought, knowing that she had been wrong about him before. For months she had misunderstood him, and doubted the goodness within him. But never could she believe that he was as bad as that. And while she might still be wrong about the depth of his feelings, she knew she was right about his goodness. And she knew that he did care about her. That was something she could work with.

It was a beginning at least.

She rang the doorbell, pacing back and forth waiting for someone to answer. She didn't expect it to be the cook. She looked as frazzled as Lizzie felt.

"Hello."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. Mr. Darcy asked me to watch the door as he is still getting ready in his room."

"That's okay. I'm early." The cook let her in. "Thank you."

She was then alone in the entranceway, uncertain as to where to go. She knew where Darcy was, but was that where he was expecting her to meet him? She blushed at the thought of it, but found herself moving in the direction regardless. After all, he didn't know when she was arriving. She might as well make her presence known.

She hesitated by his door, hand poised, ready to knock. There was no going back after this. She was saved having to second guess herself when the door opened. And there he was. Darcy. Complete with bow tie. And his newsie hat.

"Lizzie," he greeted, surprised at seeing her there. "You're here."

She nodded, dumbly, unable to look away from this man that was making her insides do things that they should not do for anyone not set to die.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably, wondering if he had done the wrong thing when he had put the hat on. He wanted her to know that he had changed. That he had a sense a humour. It was what he wore when they had first met. He had hoped that it would be his way of asking for a fresh start. With her.

She stepped towards him, her words, for once, still trying to catch up. She smiled at him. "Yes."

"That is good. Then I assume that there is another reason you wanted to see me?"

"I missed you." The words rushed out before she could stop them. She blushed at his smile. She really should have thought out what she was going to say to him. "And I wanted to see you because I needed to thank you again for helping get rid of Wickham and to apologize for everything even though both have been said before and I know that you don't want to hear it again..." She trailed off, taking another tentative step forward. They were close enough to touch. Close enough to dance. She shrugged, eyes going to the tie around his neck. "And I- I missed you."

He nodded slowly. He reached out to her, fingers running down from her shoulder to elbow before his hand once again dropped to his side. He looked uncertain. He was so cute when he was unsure of himself. She had imagined that this wasn't a side to him that many people saw. She had imagined that it was rare. And that she had seen it often meant more to her than it probably should.

The question she had on her lips was forgotten - was replaced by his lips upon her own. She felt his hat fall away as her fingers worked through his hair and they stumbled backwards into his room, the door shutting before he moved towards her again, pushing her against the wooden barrier.

Darcy broke away first, one hand on the door, the other on her waist, holding her in place when she tried to follow him back, not wanting to stop kissing him.

"What?" She asked, trying to meet his eyes, although they were determined to look at the ground before her feet, "What's wrong?"

The panic mixed uncertainty in her voice finally brought his eyes back to hers, back to her face and her hair that was no longer smooth from where his hands had tangled through the long strands. She looked almost afraid, like she wanted to sink into the door.

He ran his finger through the hair that was threatening to block his view of her eyes. The eyes that he had first fallen in love with. "This. Not this," he explained, when he heard himself say the wrong thing yet again. "Rather, there is something I need to know."

She nodded, urging him on.

"This," he held up his index finger and gestured between them, "You and me. This is actually happening?" She nodded, fighting a smile. "So you... don't hate me?"

She laughed before she could stop herself. It was a good thing he was learning not to take her teasing personally. Even if she still was finding out that he could tease her back. "No. I don't hate you at all. Haven't for some time."

It was his turn to nod, as though processing her comment despite not really believing his turn of luck. "That is fortuitous."

"I think so. Now, is there any other questions you have? Because I told Jane I would home soon so we could get ready for tonight."

He thought a moment before shaking his head. "Not that I am currently aware."

"Good, then, can we go back to kissing?"

She was quickly getting addicted to the way he kissed her, and the way she wanted to kiss him in kind. It was something that she never wanted to stop doing. And if it wasn't for the whole breathing thing, it was something that she could see her doing forever.

It took Bing's return and two calls from Jane to finally pull her away from Netherfield with promises of seeing him soon, although she was aware that it wasn't going to be soon enough. They hadn't gotten around to talking. She still didn't know how they were going to work out his travelling and working and her schooling and future career aspirations. Part of her believed that it would all work out in the end and that it was too soon to be bothered with details. The rest of her that feared, knew that she wanted a future with him, and for that to happen, that future would have to be possible for both of them.

~*~ LBD ~*~

If someone asked her the details of her date that night, where they went and what, exactly, they did, Lizzie wouldn't be able to tell them. They were picked up by a driver, and deposited at the airport where Bing and Darcy were waiting, excited and apprehensive at seeing their expressions.

"It was Bing's idea," Darcy confessed, not wanting her to think more on their different histories than she knew she already has.

"So this isn't the everyday with you," she asked, her playfulness feeding on his discomfort, hoping to be able to put them both at ease.

"No, I'm afraid it isn't."

"I can live with that," she assured him, accepting his hand as she climbed the stairs into the small aircraft that had been chartered.

They watched the sunset in the air, as the sun dipped out of sight and the reds of the fading light touched the clouds they flew among. She had the window seat, her attention split between the view before her and the warmth of the hand that was splayed at her back, fingers caressing the exposed skin peeking out from her dress.

They landed near the coast, in a small airfield. A car was waiting to take them to a resort on a beach, where there was a private dining area outside overlooking the water, with a table for four and candles and soft music playing. The sight of Darcy's proud smile when she stepped out of the car was Lizzie's only indication that he had been at least partially responsible for this part of the evening.

After a dining experience that made both the sister's ready to claim that it could gladly be their last meal on this earth, Bing asked Jane to dance. After a moment watching them, Darcy cleared his throat, "Lizzie, would you like to dance?"

She glanced over her shoulder, to where the waves were rolling onto the sand, "I would prefer a walk." And a talk, she added, growing uneasy for the first time that night.

They were silent as they made their way to the shoreline. They were both barefoot, and once again she found him offering her his coat to ward off the night air. She thanked him, as he wrapped the black suit jacket around her shoulders, pulling her into him as he did so. Once again she found herself wanting to forget that she had questions for him, wanting to forget the journey ahead.

"Lizzie," he began at last, "There is something I wanted to ask you."

She pulled away from him enough to watch his expression, "This better not be a proposal," she warned, "Because I am not ready for that, no matter what my mother says."

He smiled, "No. No marriage proposal." He stopped himself from adding yet. "It might have been better to say that I wanted your opinion of something."

"Safer, at least."

"I wanted to talk to your father. I know that his opinion is very important to you and I am aware that you are seen as his favourite. And as such I thought it best, if you agree, to meet with him about us, and my intentions towards you..." he fell silent when he met her eyes again and the questioning hope that made him fall for her all over again.

"And, may I ask, what your intentions are?"

"I love you," he told her honestly before he could think to want to not say those words yet. Her jaw fell slack, both of them realizing at the same time exactly what he had said. It hung between them as she fought to regain her breath.

"What did you say?" She asked him, her voice unsteady and pulse racing. "Because it just sounded like you said you loved me."

"I did. I do. I love you."

"That better not be the impulse of the moment and the scenery talking there bucko." She said, telling her heart to remain calm.

He smoothed the hair around her face. "I hope that you are aware enough of my nature by now to know that I'm not an impulsive man by nature."

"Good to know."

"Lizzie, I know that your opinion of me hasn't always been favourable, even though I am aware that that has changed as of late. And, while I flatter myself that you do care about me more than you say, I am not naive enough to hope that after such a short time that you feel the same about me as I do you. I have been falling in love with you since we met. I only hope, and ask, that you might be able to care about me more than you presently do."

"I can't," she said before she thought about how he might take the words. When she saw the hurt and doubt in his gaze she rushed on, "I can't because I already do. I love you too."

He nodded, fighting the smile that she could see trying to brim over his control, "And this isn't the impulse of the moment..."

She kissed him, cutting off his protests.

He broke away, finally allowing himself to smile fully at her. "Because I will hold you to what you said. My memory for these things is impeccable."

She laughed at him, happy with where she was for the first time in longer than she could recall. And they talked, not in details, but enough to know that they were on the same page and whatever came, they would strive to meet it together.

"There is the phone and skype and I will fly over every chance I can while you finish your degree."

"And afterwards?"

He shrugged, "I do run a media company, I'm sure I could find you something there."

"No, I don't want a job like that. I want something I have earned."

"Talk to any member of the board or senior management, they will tell you that putting up with me would be earning it. Most would say that you deserve more, and they would not be wrong."

"You know what I mean." He admitted that he did. "You never know, maybe I'll come out of my degree and get an offer at another Collins and Collins."

"Will I have to buy another company to keep you near me? Lizzie, one thing at a time. This year first."

"No," she corrected, taking his hand in hers, "First, is you talking to my parents."

~*~LBD~*~

In the end, Darcy only talked to Lizzie's father. All parties concerned felt that it might be best for the blossoming relationship to not tell her mother just yet. And so, they carried the secret for the last, precious days before he had to go back to work, staying with her as long as he could while she helped Jane pack up for her move. And when the first tears fell after seeing them off at the airport, he had called and stayed on the line with her until he knew that she was going to be okay.

Two days later she was with Charlotte and talking about the future when her bestie gave her a plan that she couldn't fault: shadowing media companies and doing independent studies as a way to make connections and spend more time with those not tied to her home. Half a dozen calls later and it was all set, she even had a shadowing set up at Pemberley. And for the first time it felt like everything was going to be okay.

Even after their first fight, and their second. Even after the first board-member cocktail party where she was put on display and judged by people who already felt her beneath him, and even still after telling her mother and even, before any of that, meeting Darcy's aunt.

~*~ The End ~*~

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me on this. I had originally thought that I would continue this over the Collin's and Collin's arch to see how Catherine and Caroline would take the relationship, but to be honest, I think they earned a little privacy. That being said, a squel might come in time, or if anyone wants to continue it, by all means. Let me know if you do, I would love to read it.


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